Hogwarts School for Gifted Witches and Wizards
by embersshadow1988
Summary: There was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Any witch or wizard powerful enough to use magic could attend. Then, there was Hogwarts School for Gifted Witches and Wizards. Only wizards and witches that demonstrated advanced accidental magic, frequent use of intentional wish magic, and high levels of intelligence were invited. The is the story of one such witch.
1. The Letter

Summary: There was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Any witch or wizard powerful enough to use magic could attend. Then, there was Hogwarts School for Gifted Witches and Wizards. Only wizards and witches that demonstrated advanced accidental magic, frequent use of intentional wish magic, and high levels of intelligence were invited. The is the story of one such witch.

Chapter 1 – The Letter

_Miss Brooke Shelton, _

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School for Gifted Witches and Wizards, sister school to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Our school requires more to become a student, including early advanced accidental magic, frequent use of intentional wish magic, and high levels of intelligence. _

_You have been found to meet these criteria. _

_Young witches and wizards are expected to begin their wizarding education at age 11, and after that, it is no longer lawful to continue to use magic without having received instruction on using it safely. _

_However, magic is much more than the wish magic you have been employing. There are vast numbers of magical plants and animals, potions and other magical races, to name just a fraction of what is there._

_Please see next sheet for more information regarding the magical world, and the following page contains information as to supplies and instructions on how to reach Hogwarts School for Gifted Witches and Wizards. _

_We hope that you will join us for your educational journey. _

_Please let us know of your decision promptly. If you and your family decide you should attend, please have your parents and yourself sign below. _

_We hope to see you at school on August 31__st__ , and have a great rest of your holidays. _

_Sincerely,_

_Headmistress Anna Whitlock _

Brooke blinked. And blinked again. So it was magic she'd been doing all those years. That didn't surprise her much, but the fact that other people were aware of it and could do it as well as a bit startling. She'd never intentionally showed her parents what she could do, but she doubted they'd be too surprised – strange things, as they referred to them as, did seem to happen around her quite a lot.

She set the first page aside and began to read the second page. What she read was a real eye-opener. Not only did witches and wizards and schools for them to be trained exist, a whole magical society existed that no non-magical person would know about. They had their own money system (a system that seemed rather confusing – 29 Knuts in a Sickle, 17 Sickles to a Galleon – really?), though she could tell immediately that she preferred pounds, and they had their own government, among other things. It was all quite fascinating, especially the concept of whole shopping areas and towns that were strictly for magical people. This worried her for a moment – how would she get her school supplies without her parents? – Before she saw that situations like hers was allowed. Good.

The final page in the envelope consisted of the list of supplies she'd need, as well as a uniform. Yuck. Brooke didn't like uniforms, but she knew it was standard for schools, especially boarding school, to have them. It wasn't much of a cost to learn more about her magic and what she could do with it. She noticed a store name beside each item or category of items and at the bottom was an estimated total cost for supplies, in pounds. It was noted immediately after that students and their families would need to go to Gringott's, the wizard's bank, to get their money transferred into wizarding currency.

All this was so amazing that Brooke had to sit back and let it soak in. Trying to fulfill her nonverbal wish, the bed had started to turn soft and start the transition to something she could soak in. "Oh No!" she yelled, and to her relief the bed sprang back to normal. That would have been hard to explain to her parents. Speaking of her parents…


	2. Telling Mom and Dad

Chapter 2

Brooke heard one of her parents running up the stairs, probably triggered by her exclamation. She wasn't sure how she was going to explain that one, but maybe she could just quickly divert to the letter and discussion of her magic. A moment later her mom poked her head in," Everything okay, sweetheart?" I nodded. "Yep. Can I talk to you and dad, though? It's nothing bad, I promise." At least, Brooke hoped they wouldn't see it as a bad thing.

Jacqueline called down the stairs for her husband to come up before heading back into Brooke's room and claiming the desk chair. Her dad came up at a regular pace, instead of the rushed pace she'd heard from her mom before. "Hi, Dad," she greeted as she scooted over on her bed and gathered the papers from the letter. Her dad took the now-free spot and her parents looked expectantly at her.

"Well, mom, dad, I got a letter this morning from a boarding school called Hogwarts School for Gifted Witches and Wizards." Brooke figured there was no point in beating around the bush. Her parents just looked curious, and, more importantly, like they weren't about to run for the hills. "I don't know how much you've noticed, but I've been doing magic for a while. At first by accident, but then I learned I could do it intentionally, so I did. I tried not to do it in front of you, but I'm not sure if you noticed or not."

Her parent's looked at each other, not seeming at all shocked by the news. Her dad nodded at her mom, who then began speaking. "We've known for a while that you could perform feats that most people can't – making things come to you, making them disappear, etc." Brooke just watched her mom's expressions as she talked. "We figured you would say something eventually, or you'd do something that was so obvious to us that it couldn't be ignored." Her dad picked up at that point.

"If anything, we're pleased to hear that there is a school to help you learn more and make sure it's all okay and not going to hurt anybody. Honestly, I was more concerned about that than your mom. May I see the letter and other papers that came with it?" Without a word, Brooke handed them over to dad and sat back further on my bed, leaning on the large stuffed animal that leans against the wall.

While her parents sat and discussed the ups and downs of the decisions, as well as logistics, Brooke sat and daydreamed about what this school would be like. She was almost positive that she'd be able to go, despite her only being eleven. Brooke stopped daydreaming when she heard her name called, perhaps for the second time.

"This sounds kind of complicated, sweetie," Jacqueline said, making her suddenly very nervous. Was she not going after all? Her mom must have seen her expression because she quickly continued, "But we have no doubt you'll be able to figure things out and guide us. I think we should all learn as much as we can about this world before sending you off, especially yourself. You may be new to the wizarding world, but I'd rather you not look or sound like it. "Brooke giggled. "Absolutely not. I do have my reputation to worry about."

"It's almost the end of July, which gives you a little over a month to get prepared, which I'm sure is enough, the way you learn," Adrian said. "But for you to have that much time, you need to get the supplies necessary, yes?" Brooke nodded enthusiastically. Was she going to get her supplies right away? That would be cool, but her parents had forgotten one thing – the signatures for her to attend. Hopeful, she'd already signed, and had a pen nearby. She handed out the relevant piece of parchment and a pen. "Only one parent needs to sign." Her father took the pen and paper and used Brooke's nightstand for a writing surface. As soon as the signatures were registered on the parchment, they vanished and another message appeared. _Welcome to Hogwarts School for Gifted Witches and Wizards! We look forward to seeing you August 31__st__. Instructions on how students arrive will be sent to you by owl. _Her parents looked at Brooke, and then glanced back at the brief overview of wizarding world, which mentioned that owls were used for mail. Brooke grinned at her parents and excitedly said, "_Now_ we can get my school supplies." Both parents smiled.


	3. Diagon Alley, Part 1

A/N: I had a lot of fun going into detail of Brooke's trip to Diagon Alley, and as such, it's pretty long. Just a friendly warning!

Chapter 3 - Morning at Diagon Alley

A couple hours later saw the family in their SUV plugging in the cross street they had been given from the letter into their GPS. It wasn't actually that far, Jacqueline mused, but Brooke was sure making it feel like it, bouncing as much as her seat would let her. Admittedly, that wasn't much. Normally, Adrian would have said something, but he decided not to. His daughter had a very good reason to be excited.

It was a little difficult to find parking in that area, but that seemed to always be the case. Today, though, it annoyed him more than usual. "Finally!" he exclaimed a little overenthusiastically when he grabbed a spot that had just been vacated.

They had made a stop on the way to their bank, withdrawing an amount they thought would be sufficient, plus the extras they thought Brooke would need. Brooke, however, didn't know the amount they had gotten, and wouldn't until they had finished shopping and then only if she bothered to keep count of everything.

If was very strange, Adrian thought, being pulled into a space that you couldn't see. He was sure his wife felt the same thing. Brooke recovered from being in an entirely new place the fastest, and dragged her parents up to the bar, where the barman was watching them. A muggleborn and her parents for sure, he thought to himself.

Brooke stepped up to the barman and boldly asked where she was supposed to buy her school supplies, as they clearly were not in here. She'd folded her arms at that last phrase, ruining the effect of proud young lady. The barman looked up from the young girl and called out to someone he clearly knew in the bar, asking for him to let them into Diagon Alley. The man stood and nodded, beckoning to Brooke and her family. Her dad led them out to a tiny concrete courtyard before pulling out his wand at tapping the bricks in a specific order. Brooke immediately memorized the sequence, as this entrance seemed very important. Plus, she didn't know if she'd need the code to get back out again. As soon as she was sure of the sequence, she allowed herself to look ahead as she stepped through what had to be a portal, and gasped. How did such a place exist without everyone, and Brooke meant –everyone-, non-magicals too, knowing about it? Magic, she supposed.

She looked down the street, in awe about everything that was assaulting her senses. There were so many sights and sounds of things that she'd never seen before. Clearly, there was much more to magic than her intentional wish magic she'd been doing for years. It excited Brooke to no end and she started dragging her parents toward the bank, a gigantic building that couldn't be missed. Despite her eagerness, the trip down Diagon Alley kept being halted by Brooke staring at one store or another.

"Come on dear," Jacqueline said, urging her daughter down the rest of the way down the street. It didn't take long for Brooke's gaze to reach the bank and its vast size and warning on the doors. Adrian turned to his wife and child after reading it. "Well, that would certainly make me think twice about robbing this bank. Not that I'd ever try that sort of thing, it's wrong," he hastily amended when he saw a guard staring at him.

It only took him a few nanoseconds to realize that the guard clearly wasn't human. "Sentient magical creatures all over this place," he murmured to his wife and daughter before going up the stairs. "Let's try not to be too conspicuous, typical manners. I'll deal with them." Brooke smiled. She told herself that she was fine and not nervous at all, that her Daddy was just being overprotective. When she got closer to one, though, she suddenly was grateful for that overprotection.

Adrian did his business with the creature as quickly as he could, hearing someone refer to the creatures as goblins. "Well," he mused as the newly-identified goblin counted his money, "They are both better and worse than normal than our fantasy stories say, depending on the author." Adrian paid close attention to the coins that the goblin counted out, and responded affirmatively when asked if he wanted a pouch to carry the money is. A few coins were removed from the pile and the rest placed in the pouch. Adrian couldn't help but notice that the pouch held far more than its size would have indicated. He didn't make any verbal noises of surprise. It was something magical. He'd have to get used to such things. He took his leave of the goblin politely and quickly guided his family out of the bank as quickly as he could.

"I think that we should find some proper wizarding attire," Jacqueline stated firmly. "I felt far too many eyes on us because of our non-magical attire. Us too, dear," she said, looking at her husband. "If we're going to be in the magical world, we should do our best to blend in, don't you think?" Adrian agreed with his wife as quickly as possible. One – she had a good point. Two – it was best to agree with his wife when she used that tone of voice with him. Brooke couldn't help but smile at the exchange, it was one she had seen many times before, but it still amused her. Her father might technically be the head of the family, but when mom wanted to, she could kick him out of the position if she felt it necessary for any reason. Like now.

Thankfully, the clothes store, Madam Malkin's, was near the bank, so that Jacqueline could stop her minor rampage. The store wasn't busy, and so the family split up, looking for all the world like they belonged there – except for their muggle clothes, which would soon be remedied. Madam Malkin came up to Jacqueline first, ignoring her current mode of dress. It would soon be remedied.

"Looking for some robes, dear?" she enquired, making Jacqueline start in surprise for a moment before turning. "Yes, Madam Malkin. Just one or two everyday sets, nothing fancy at the moment. Do you have any suggestions?" Madam Malkin looked her up and down, paying special attention to her eyes, skin tone, and hair. She then turned back to her rack and hummed absent-mindedly as she flipped through her selection. Finally, she stopped at a cranberry colored robe with a simple flower design flowing down the sides of the robes. She took it off the rack and held it up for her client to inspect. Jacqueline couldn't help but gasp. This was an everyday robe? It was really quite beautiful but looked big. She said nothing about that, though, figuring that the lady knew what she was doing. "That is a beautiful color, Madam, and the small flowers are really a nice touch." Her comment was met with a smile, and the robe was handed over to her. "Why don't you see if there is anything else you like? That gentleman over there," she pointed to Adrian, "Looks a little lost." Jacqueline laughed. "That's my husband, Adrian. He never was any good at shopping." "Well, then, I'd best go save him from himself, dear." She bustled off to assist Adrian. On the way, she noticed a young girl, looking about the right age, looking around in the children's section. As she seemed to be having a good time and didn't seem to need assistance immediately, she continued on her way.

"Mr. Adrian?" She greeted. "I'm Madam Malkin. Your wife said you might need some assistance, although I had been heading your way before she said that you were her husband. Now," she examined Adrian the way she had Jacqueline, noticing he was looking confused. "Nothing to worry about, I'm just getting an idea of what type of robes would look good on you. One or two for you as well?" Adrian just nodded and let the lady do her work. He wouldn't interfere unless something looked truly horrible. He let his eyes wander as the lady looked through the many robes available, pausing a few times before moving on. Suddenly she stopped completely and pulled out a dark blue robe, simple, but elegant in the way it flowed. She held it up to Adrian and smiled, while he looked down. Personally, he thought it looked like a dress, but if this was how wizards dressed, he'd put up with it. It's not like he'd be wearing it every day. He nodded to the witch and she handed it to him before returning to the rack once more. Adrian cleared his throat. "I think just the one will do, Madam." She responded with what could only be described as a pout. "Don't worry, Madam, my daughter Brooke needs far more clothing, even a few dress robes." This had the effect that he'd hoped it would. Madam Malkin bustled over to the children's section, a smile returned to her face.

"Hello, dearie!" she greeted with a smile. Brooke didn't look back from her eager flipping through the robes. When she realized that the lady who had spoken was not leaving, she turned around. "Do you work here?" She nodded. "Yes, I'm Madam Malkin. I own the shop." Brooke nodded decisively. "That means you can help me figure these things out then, right?" Madam Malkin nodded. "I've got no idea what constitutes a relaxed look, versus a going out look, versus a robe that makes you look snobby-rich-kid – I don't want those – basically I just want to look like a normal wizarding kid." Madam Malkin smiled. "We can do that."

"First off, the section you've been looking in is for much younger witches. You didn't seem too happy with moving rainbows or sparkles, so let's head to the section for girls more your age." Brooke was relieved. She really didn't want those robes by the window she'd been looking at. Madam Malkin turned around to look at Brooke. "Now, most girls your age still do like some animation to their robes, but it isn't the little kid flashy stuff you were seeing over there. What type of animals do you like?" It took Brooke just a moment to realize she was probably referring to magical animals more than non-magical, so she spent a minute thinking about what types she's read about. Unicorns were standard, as well as phoenixes. Dragons were more for boys, but she was pretty sure they existed. She decided to buy herself time. "I like a lot of them, but I'm not sure what they would look like on a robe. Could you show me some?" Madam Malkin nodded in such a way that made Brooke think she was entirely too excited. She gave Brooke the once-over like she had her parents and began looking through.

Madam Malkin could see that her young client was rather impatient, and so didn't take her time pulling out a couple she thought the child would like that had magical animals on them that moved. The first was a light green with a life-sized kneazle that wandered around the bottom of the robe. The second was a bright blue with a few pixies that disappeared and reappeared in other places at random. Madam Malkin went over to Adrian who was standing nearby watching. "How many robes are you seeking to get for Brooke, Sir?" "We were thinking 5 everyday robes and 2 fancier ones for special occasions. Does that seem sufficient, considering she'll be at school most of the year?" Madam Malkin could have gotten a bigger order at that point, but despite their attempts, she knew they were a muggle family and knew what they suggested was reasonable, and said as much. "Why don't you go check on your wife?" She shooed him away and turned back to Brooke. "What do you think, Brooke?" "I like the bright blue with the pixies, but I'd like the one with the cat more if it was also a brighter color." Ah, information! Brooke liked bright colors. She waved her wand and the material became the requested color. Brooke nodded. "I definitely like that better. Do you have more like that? With the bright colors? Purple?" Ah, a favorite color, at least she was fairly sure that's what Brooke was implying. "Let me go see what we have. Why don't you go look at the dress robes over there while I do that?" Brooke nodded and headed the indicated way.

Brooke wasn't sure why Madam Malkin had in essence sent her away while she looked at more everyday robes, but she didn't mind. She could always say no to anything she didn't like. The first thing she noticed about these robes was that they were made of a much nicer material, almost satiny. At least the ones that didn't have too much lace on them. Lace could be nice, Brooke thought, as long as it wasn't overdone. Brooke's love of purple led her towards those robes (personally, she thought they just looked like regular dresses), and her eye was drawn towards robe that cleverly used a combination of lace, and three shades of purple. Most of the dress was dark purple, but there was a sash-type design that went over the shoulder from her opposite waist. The sash had three layers – first, a bright purple, on top of that, thinner, some gold lace, and on top of that way a light purple. She took it off from the hanger and admired it. It was beautiful. Madam Malkin set down the robes she was going over when she saw that Brooke had found one she liked. She gasped, "Brooke, that will look beautiful on you!" Brooke smiled, glad to have the Madam's approval – though of course, it didn't really matter that much. "Let's go look at some of the everyday robes I've taken off the racks and see what you think, all right?" Madam Malkin hurried back over to that section without waiting for a response. Brooke looked from the dress she'd found to Madam Malkin and back before she decided to take the dress with her.

Soon enough, Madam Malkin had Brooke's everyday robes sorted out, and as per usual with customers Brooke's age, asked, "Hogwarts, Dear?" To her surprise, Brooke shook and head and then looked thoughtful. "Well, not really," Brooke clarified. "I'm attending their sister school for Gifted Witches and Wizards." Madam Malkin prided on keeping her composure around customers, but allowed her eyebrows to rise a little bit.

"Congratulations on getting in, Brooke. That is a very prestigious school." Brooke looked like she had more to say on that, but at a glance from her mother, decided to stick with a simple, "Thank you." Madam Malkin smiled in return before continuing her dialogue with her customers...

"We'll get you lot fitted up in the back, for your uniform, Brooke, as well as your other robes, Jacqueline, Adrian. If you'll follow me to the back of the store, I keep all my measuring supplies back there." That said, she banished the chosen robes to the back of the store and then led the way. Brooke saw that her mom and dad looked really confused, and she was too, but she shrugged and turned to her parents with a shrug. "Well, they wouldn't make something totally disappear if they wanted to sell it." Without waiting for a response, she turned and followed Madam Malkin.

When they arrived at the back of the store, the Madam ordered them up onto stools and went and picked up three measuring tapes from the table. Madam Malkin was certain that these muggles knew what a tape measure was, but not how a magical one worked, so she decided to explain. "These will take exact measurements and then record them on the connected parchments on the desk," she said, indicating the parchments on the desk behind her. "Now, shall we begin?" She smiled and unrolled the first tape measure, tossing it towards Brooke. Adrian and Jacqueline gaped at her as the tape measure began measuring Brooke until suddenly they were more concerned with the tapes flying around them. To all three Shelton's relief, the strange experience didn't last long, as soon as the tapes were told to stop and roll, they became three neatly rolled up measuring tapes on the floor, no signs of magic anywhere around them. Madam Malkin took a look at the papers before turning and collecting the three tape measures. She replaced them and then turned to look at her customers.

"Now, normally I ask my clients to return in an hour or so, but I can see that young Brooke here is eager to continue her shopping and you," she looked to Adrian and Jacqueline, "are hesitant to do so while you stick out in your muggle clothing." They nodded and hoped the Madam would have a solution.

"So," Madam Malkin began with a clap, "How would it be if I altered your robes," indicating Brooke's parents, "and one of your everyday ones," pointing to Brooke, "and that will enable you to continue shopping while I complete Brooke's order."

"That would be wonderful, Madam. How long would that take?" questioned Adrian. "Roughly 10-15 minutes. Perhaps enough time for the young lady to find her 2nd dress robe? You did say you wanted her to have a second one, correct?" Jacqueline nodded. "Well, dear, I'm sure you can show your parents back to the young ladies' dress robes section." Brooke dashed off, forcing her parents to quickly follow. "I'll let you know when I'm done," Madam Malkin called before she turned to her work. Hm. Brooke would probably be happiest with the purple robe…

When Brooke reached the dress robes section, she immediately went to the purple section again, until her mother stopped her. "Dear, I know you love purple, but you really need to have a different color for each of your dress robes." Brooke pouted a little but stepped back to look at some of the other colors. After flipping through what seemed like a million robes to Brooke, she came across an extremely softs sky blue robe that seemed to shimmer a bit. Perhaps it was magic. It was vastly different from the purple one, but isn't that what her parents wanted? She pulled it out to get a better look. Hm. There was no extra design on this robe, but the shimmer easily made up for that. It really was quite pretty.

"Mom? Dad?" Her parents stopped chatting quietly a bit away and came over to their daughter. "Do you like this one?" She held the robe up to herself and looked down. She thought it made her look pretty. "What matters is that you like it, sweetheart," her father said. "But for the record, I think it is beautiful." Her mother cut in. "I'll second that." Brooke bounced a little and dashed off again towards where she'd last seen Madam Malkin. She wasn't there, but the pile of Brooke's other selections was there, so they decided to simply leave it on the top and wait for Madam Malkin.

They didn't wait long. Madam Malkin came out with their 3 robes in hand and handed them to their new respective owners. Adrian looked slightly confused and looked around for any wizarding presence before quietly asking the easiest way to put them on. They weren't expected to pull them on over their heads each time, were they? Madam Malkin laughed a little. "Of course not, dear. Look towards the robe of the robe near the front middle of the neck. You'll find a small clasp. They're not meant to be easily visible, so don't worry about not having seen it before. Simply undo it and you will be able to slip on the robe. Adrian looked relieved and followed the instructions, followed by his wife.

Brooke was searching her bright purple robes and frowned. "I can't find my clasp." Madam Malkin came over to explain that children's robes opened in a simpler way, that they simply needed to touch the seam down the front and it would open. "Now, to close the robes in wizarding fashion to hide your muggle clothing, simply redo the steps I mentioned. That means redoing the clasp for you two, and touching the seam again for you, Dearie," she said, looking at Brooke. They each followed their instructions and their robes closed, hiding physical evidence at least, that they were muggle, and Brooke was muggleborn. Each Shelton knew that physical evidence was only the start, and that how they acted and reacted to things on their shopping trip would be far more important.

Madam Malkin led them to a wall mirror and let them look at themselves. Brooke giggled and twirled around. Her new robe was pretty. Jacqueline looked at herself for a few moments before deciding she liked it and smoothing it down. Only Adrian still looked uncomfortable. "I still think it looks like a dress." Madam Malkin had run into this issue before with both male muggleborns and the few parents who were bold enough to try one on. "Understandable, Mr. Shelton." Adrian frowned at the use of his last name. "May I perhaps offer a suggestion to assist?" Adrian nodded vigorously. "It is not considered odd for men's robes to have decorative buttons near the seam of their robes. Perhaps if I added some you would be able to consider the robe to be an ankle-length overcoat?" Adrian didn't hesitate a moment to accept the offer. "Gold, silver, or bronze buttons would all work with the dark blue robe. Personally, I recommend the silver. Gold would put you in upper class and more would be expected of you, while bronze could have people unconsciously put you in a lower class. Silver would put you," Adrian interrupted her, "in the middle class. Yes, that will do." Madam Malkin took out her wand from a side pocket specially designed, and conjured a small silver bead. Both Adrian and Jacqueline looked confused, as that was not what they had expected. Madam Malkin noticed their expressions and reassured them.

"It's just a starting point, dearie. Easier to conjure simple things and then transfigure them from there. Watch." She set a bead on the nearby desk and pointed her wand at it, muttering an incantation. Slowly, the bead grew in size and became button-sized. Normally at this point she'd ask the customers what design they wanted, but she doubted that they knew what each meant, so she decided to go with what she felt was appropriate. A simple design would work fine, enough to be seen, but not so much as to stand out. It was by now very clear that the Sheltons wanted to blend in, not stand out. Once done, she performed a replicating spells until ten identical buttons lay on the table. Another swish of her wand and they flew over to Adrian, who started a little as they began attaching themselves neatly down the front of his robes. Madam Malkin took Adrian by the shoulders and turned him to face the mirror. "Better?" Adrian looked relieved. It definitely looked less like a dress with the buttons. "Much. Thank you, Madam."

Madam Malkin turned to Brooke. "One last thing for you, Brooke. You need a secure pocket for your wand. For now, I recommend putting the pocket on the inside of your robes. You won't need it until you reach school, but it is a good habit to keep it on you at all times. Your school robes will remain open for most classes, so the pocket will be easily reachable. Is that okay?" Brooke nodded. She was feeling more and more like a witch by the moment. First wizarding robes, and now a wand pocket! She couldn't wait to get her wand. Madam Malkin didn't even need Brooke to open her robes; she'd done this so many times. Brooke felt a slight odd sensation on the left side of her robes and went to touch it, supposing it was the new wand pocket. Pocket confirmed, Brooke looked up to Madam Malkin and said simply "Neat." Madam Malkin turned to look at Adrian.

"Now, the modifications to your robe will only last about 12 hours until I make them permanent, which I plan to do when you come back to pick up the rest of Brooke's order. Is that satisfactory?" Adrian nodded. "Of course. How much do I owe you?" Madam Malkin waved her hand. "You pay when you pick up the full order and make sure everything is as you wish. I wish you luck in the rest of your shopping. Also, I recommend you go buy Brooke a trunk next. The store is across the street and two down. Be sure to ask for a feather light charmed one, and a shrinking charm would be helpful as well. Anything else you might be interested in will be available to look at in the store. Ta-ta!" After seeing them off, Madam Malkin went to check on her other employees who had been working with customers with smaller orders.

Newly robed and feeling much less self-conscious, they took Madam Malkin's advice and went to find the trunk store. It wasn't difficult to find, but there were a few people who had arrived before them. They decided to look around at some of the trunks to see the various styles as well as what was available as far as modifications go. This was Jacqueline's idea, thinking that if they knew what some of these things were called (most of the names seemed obvious); they wouldn't be suspected as muggles.

Several of the trunks, if not most of them, had the feather light and shrinking charms Madam Malkin had recommended, and most had many more. One option all 3 of them loved was the multi-compartmented trunks, as it would drastically lower the amount of luggage Brooke would need for school down to one trunk, and even that would be able to be shrunk.

About 20 minutes later when it was their turn to be served and they had gone over most of the options, they had decided on a 3-compartment trunk with three different styles of space. One would be a plain trunk interior, another having shelves (with a specific area for actual books), and an area to hold Brooke's wardrobe. One thing that they were not sure of, however, would be type of wood appropriate for Brooke's needs and be appropriate for her age. Eventually, they gave up and realized they would just have to ask.

Standard greetings took place, and following the lead of the other families they had seen, Adrian took the lead. "I'm looking for a trunk for my daughter," he motioned her over, "as she is headed to school for the first time this year. We were thinking that a three compartment trunk would allow her to pack the essentials plus some extra without having things risk getting damaged because they were packed too close together."

Adrian's spiel gave the shop-keeper more information than he realized, but it did not turn out to be a bad thing. Firstly, calling his daughter up showed significant affection and protectiveness, as well as obvious pride in her beginning school. That was expected, however. Their request of a three compartment trunk and them wanting their child to have space for "some extra," let him know that they could afford a good bit more than the basics. Lastly, his concern about his daughter's belongings let him know that a sales pitch of ways to keep her things neat and safe would probably lead him to a decent profit.

"We have several charms available to ensure a trunk's safety while travelling, whether it be to simply avoid robes being wrinkled, or the more delicate task of ensuring that potions ingredients and other supplies remain fresh and in their proper places." The shop-keeper waited to judge the man's reactions before going further. "I trust that such charms would be effective on say, various types of shelves? I already saw the example of the wardrobe compartment, which I liked."

The shop-keeper was seeing a good sale, to a well-off family, although clearly not in the wealthy category. "Of course," he reassured his customer. "We get requests for shelves to hold delicate objects quite often, so that feature is quite well developed." Adrian nodded and took a moment talk to his wife and daughter. "You must be bored in here, sweetie. Why don't you let Daddy take care of business here and your mother take you out for some ice cream?" This was two-fold. One, Adrian thought Brooke and Jacqueline really were getting bored, and two, it seemed like something that a father would offer when he wanted to take care of business man-to-man. Brooke nodded excitedly and looked pointedly at her father's pocket, where the money was. Hm. How much would ice cream cost here? Couldn't be too much. He handed her a small handful of the silver coins – sickles, if he recalled correctly, and sent her on her way.

"Now, I have a special request for some of these shelves. I'd like a simple bookcase for about half of the space, but the others I would like to have them be removable and be able to be stuck elsewhere and still hold the charm. Is that possible?" The shop-keeper stroked his chin, looking thoughtful. "That is a very unusual request, but I see no reason why it couldn't be done. I could even attach an anti-theft charms to the shelves secondarily to the standard charms." Adrian nodded, satisfied. They continued discussing the specifics of the trunk, while Jacqueline and Brooke made their way down the Alley.

They didn't know where the ice cream store was, but they were sure there was one that Adrian had seen. Finally, they used the tactic of following the children, which led them there quickly enough.

The ice cream bar was the most normal thing Brooke and Jacqueline had come across yet, a fact that both welcomed. Nevertheless, there were some interesting flavors that Jacqueline didn't think would be found in a normal ice cream store, like the peanut butter that Brooke was insisting on trying with peanuts and chocolate chips. Jacqueline nodded absently-mindedly, still looking at the many different varieties while Brooke went up to order.

Turns out ice cream in the wizarding world wasn't expensive, and Brooke only needed a fraction of what her Daddy had given her. Her mom seemed to take forever in deciding what she wanted, and Brooke was almost disappointed when she settled on a simple double chocolate without any toppings at all. After paying, the two went outside to find a table, figuring it would be easier for Adrian to find them there.

The ice cream was fantastic, both mother and daughter agreed. Brooke was the first to notice it, but neither of their ice creams was dripping at all, which must be accomplished through magic. Brooke wasn't too loud in making this observation, as she figured it would be common knowledge. However, this non-melting ice cream presented a bit of a problem for Brooke. She had always preferred to eat her ice cream by quickly licking off the sides as they melted. Now, no melting. It wasn't something she thought about for more than a moment as she took a bite of her ice cream cone, watching her mom take a bite of her smaller portion.

Adrian showed up just as Brooke was taking the last few bites of her cone and Jacqueline was about halfway through. He snuck up quietly behind his wife, Brooke seeing his every move but keeping quiet. He leaned forward and said directly into her ear, "Still always savoring your ice cream?" Jacqueline jumped a few inches into the air, but thankfully it didn't drop or spill. She turned and looked at her husband. "Always."

After Adrian had collected the change from Brooke, he informed them he was going to get some ice cream as well and went into the store, which was a little less crowded than when Jacqueline and Brooke had entered. Adrian, it seemed, was braver than they when it came to magical ice cream, for when he returned, he was carrying a dish of rainbow sherbet whose colors (and flavors, Jacqueline supposed) swirled, making it very difficult to pick a particular part of the rainbow you wished to eat at the moment. This turned out to be even more interesting when the colors didn't stop swirling on your spoon, only once they reached your mouth. It was truly fascinating to the family, but only their eyes betrayed their wonder.

Unlike Jacqueline, Adrian was a fast eater, especially of sweets, and so he finished about the same time as his wife. Brooke was squirming in eagerness to continue their shopping, and was grateful she did not have to wait long.

"Now, the trunk shopkeeper said that your trunk would take a couple hours to make due to the specialized features," Adrian said, looking at Brooke. "For now, he has loaned me a simple small trunk that still shrinks so we can continue our shopping for small items, of course. I was thinking we could go get your basic school supplies – pa." He paused. It wouldn't be paper here, it would be parchment; it wouldn't be pens, it would be quills. He finished his statement and they headed over to a likely looking store called Scribbulus Writing Implements.

A bell dinged upon their arrival, but it still took a moment for an employee to show up. One thing all three Sheltons noticed was that in every store, you were personally served by an employee. It was a feature of the wizarding world they appreciated, especially since they were only pretending they knew what they were doing. Brooke wandered around the store, looking at all the various types of quills and ink. She was slightly concerned about how she was going to learn to write legibly before school starts, but she was certain that between her and her mom and dad, they'd figure something out.

Brooke came over to her daddy just in time to hear him ask about handwriting books, because, 'His daughter needed some significant practice before her handwriting was up to standards for school.' Brooke pouted a little and whined, "Daddy….." Said Daddy turned and looked at her, raising his eyebrows. "You know you need to practice, young lady. I'm getting you a set of basic quills along with a practice book along with your regular school supplies." Brooke frowned but nodded. "Yes Sir." The shopkeeper actually laughed. "I wish my children would agree to do as I said that easily." Adrian didn't return the laugh, but did reply that it required starting as early as possible in childhood, but that it was never too late to start. The shopkeeper had stopped laughing pretty quickly when he realized that his customer was not finding his comment funny. His daughter, however, looked up to her father and said, "Daddy, I think he was complimenting me for behaving and you for teaching me to, not asking for parenting advice." Adrian looked at the man to whom he had made his comment. "Is that true?" "Yes, Sir. Would you like anything else? Basic ink comes with the handwriting book, and nicer ink comes in the school packet. Are you interesting in buying some ink for yourself, perhaps in a different color?" Adrian felt the need to compensate for his previous comment and looked at the wall of various inks. After a moment, he headed over.

He wasn't interested in anything fancy; in fact since he wouldn't actually be using it, he wanted something simple his daughter could use. He picked out a navy blue and found his daughter next to him, holding up a container of purple ink. He knelt down so he could look at his daughter at the same height. "We can get it, but you will not be allowed to use it until you have completed your handwriting workbook, understood?" Brooke quickly agreed and she followed her father to the register. The shopkeeper was pleased to see the additional inks, and Adrian pulled out the required coins, followed by the small trunk that he 'let' Brooke resize. As he put the items in the trunk, Jacqueline asked, with only a touch of worry in her voice. "Those will not break, right?" She was quickly reassured. "Of course not, Madam. We have unbreakable charms on all our containers. You need not worry about that." Jacqueline looked relieved, but not overly so. Once the supplies were tucked away, Adrian thanked the man for his assistance, let Brooke shrink the trunk, which she did with a giggle before her daddy picked the tiny trunk up and slipped it back in his pocket. One more thing taken care of. The group left Scribbulus' store and headed down the street.

Adrian turned to his daughter, "You do have your list, right?" Brooke nodded and produced it from her pocket. He consulted it, debating what other supplies could be gotten and fit easily into the small trunk he'd been provided. "I think we could go pick up your potions materials and ingredients," Adrian grimaced the list of ingredients Brooke would need, and was very glad that he wouldn't be the one working with them. The equipment wasn't so scary looking, and so after looking around and locating a shop advertising cauldrons, he headed that way, daughter and wife in tow. "Well," Adrian thought to himself as he approached the shop, "They may have mentioned cauldrons in our childhood tales of witches and wizards, but they usually didn't mention them being different sizes or different materials." He looked at Brooke's school list. Apparently she needed three of them. When they walked in, Adrian decided to look at the various sizes and materials before going up to the counter.

"Now, Brooke, it seems like you need two pewter cauldrons, one in size 2 and the other in size 4, and a bronze one also in size 2." Brooke had started scanning the shelves at the mention of the first needed cauldron and had scurried to get it and return to her father with it before letting him finish. Adrian looked sternly at Brooke, a look with Brooke noticed was mirrored in her mother. "Brooke, you need to listen to everything I have to say, not just the first. Also, you should know better than to run in these shops. You could have caused something to fall, or worse, get hurt." Brooke looked down, "Sorry, Daddy, I just got excited." It was Jacqueline's turn to speak up.

"We understand that you are excited, and understandably so, but we do not want you to get hurt! I know normally you get two warnings, but while we are out today I'm reducing that to one. "Jacqueline turned to her husband, who nodded in approval. Jacqueline leaned in to hug her daughter, and while doing so, whispered to her a reminder that they knew very little about this world and that they would not be able to easily fix any issues that came up. Brooke nodded and buried her head in her mom's shoulder. Jacqueline released her, and Brooke apologized to her parents. "Sorry, mom, dad." They nodded their acceptance and returned to shopping.

The size 4 pewter cauldron was considerably bigger, so Adrian took it off the shelf for safety. The bronze cauldron was heavier than the pewter despite being the same size, but when he thought about it, it made sense. Bronze was definitely the heavier material, but he handed it to his daughter with a warning to be prepared for the weight. She accepted the cauldron and only took a moment to adjust to the weight. Adrian checked her list against the cauldrons they had selected before returning the list to his pocket. Together, they took the three cauldrons to the counter and paid without further incident, the larger cauldron fitting just as well into the trunk as the smaller ones. In fact, to save room, they'd put the size 2 pewter inside the size 4 pewter.

Unsurprisingly, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary was right next door to Potage's Cauldron Shop, but they waited a bit to go in after examining the ingredients listed in Brooke's letter. The variety of things from common to odd parts of common things, not to mention things and parts of things they'd never heard of. Brooke hadn't been able to suppress a face of disgust when she noticed that she'd be required to use rat tails. The list itself was an eye-opener for the whole family as to the wide variety of things that combined correctly could make things happen if you did it properly.

After observing the items in the store window, Jacqueline turned to her husband, looking green. "Don't think I'm going to be able to do this one with you, honey." It only took Adrian a moment to see that this was absolutely true. Brooke looked a little jealous that her mom was getting out of this store, but then figured she wouldn't have to be stoic in this store. Even wizard-raised kids would find frog brains a bit disgusting, right?

A few moments later, Adrian had sent his wife to look for the bookstore and suggested she buy something that looked useful. He had given her several galleons, thinking to himself that the next trip here they'd have a much better idea of what items cost what. He turned to his daughter.

"Mom decided to sit this one out, sweetie. Let's go see what these items look like." Adrian didn't seem too thrilled about this prospect, and neither did Brooke, but they stepped inside anyway. The first thing they noticed was the smell, and Brooke couldn't help but gag. A laugh came from behind the counter. "Your first time in the apothecary, I take it, young lady?" She nodded. Adrian stepped up, "I insisted she come with me in here to get her school supplies because she would have to get used to working with these ingredients pretty soon." The employee nodded. "Let me have her list, and I'll get you set up."

Adrian handed over the list, which the employee looked at, his eyebrows raising as he read it. This was not the typical Hogwarts list, he knew that immediately, but it didn't vary too horribly much. "Most customers prefer their children to have a case to keep their ingredients safe and fresh. Would you like to purchase one of these today as well?" Adrian nodded. "Of course. Perhaps we can get a size up from absolutely necessary so she will be able to purchase more later if needed?" The employee grumbled silently. He liked it when people bought the smallest size and had to buy a bigger one later not anticipating the needed extra size as a child progressed through school, as it brought the business more money. Verbally, he merely reassured the man that it was definitely doable, and that he would be back with the required items already in their case. He was no fool. He knew that all the various ingredients together stank considerably and didn't want to stay in his shop longer than necessary. However, this was not too much a detriment, as people didn't really come to his store to shop around.

Brooke and Adrian hoped that it wouldn't take him too long to get her kit together. rooke looked around the store, hoping to find something not horribly icky. It only took a moment for her to notice what had slipped her memory due to the smell – more of some of her school supplies.

"Daddy?" Brooke said, and once he'd acknowledged her, she pointed to the shelves toward the back that held scales and vials. Adrian nodded but reminded Brook that the shopkeeper had their list. "Don't worry, Daddy, I remember what I need. Adrian nodded, "All right, then. Let's go selected what you need." Brooke nodded and carefully walked toward the appropriate shelf. She didn't need any reminders to be careful in here – there were way too many things she did not want on her. Not to mention that they could be dangerous all on their own.

Thankfully, they reached the back without incident and Adrian looked to his daughter to tell him what type of vials she'd need. He noticed that Brooke's hands were firmly clasped behind her back with some amusement. He was certain everything that could break in here would have a charm against it doing so, but he didn't say anything. Far be it from him to discourage his daughter from being careful.

"The list says I need four 4 oz. vials, three 8 oz. vials, and two 12 oz. vials. It also mentioned needed brass scales," Brooke recited. "It also says that the vials may be glass or crystal. I wonder what the difference is," Brooke asked herself. Imagine her surprise when she actually got an answer.

"Glass vials are typically purchased for school, but judging by the school you are attending, I'd recommend the crystal. They are far more durable, and it would take many years of cleaning charms to affect the quality. Of course, we recommend hand-cleaning, but understand that is not always possible," the employee explained as the set down the requested case of ingredients. Adrian nodded, turning to take them off the self. The employee quickly hurried around the desk. "Allow me, Sir."

Clearly, something had happened in the back room to make the employee much more intent on making them feel more welcome and respected. Adrian and Brooke had no idea, of course, that the owner in the back had seen the list that was being filled, and insisted on seeing it personally. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the list was for Hogwarts sister school. There weren't many students there, but their required ingredients list was always longer and at least half of them were considerably more expensive that the lists that Hogwarts gave their students. These students and their parents were not customers he wanted to lose. Before he allowed his employee to head back out, he made it very clear that customers from this school were to be treated almost like royalty. With an assurance that he would explain more later, he shooed his employee back to the shop. It would not do to keep them waiting, no, not at all. He was quiet for a moment, listening to make sure his employee was following instructions, and then returning to his normal work.

Back in the shop, the required vials, all in crystal, were sitting on the store countertop. "We also need some quality brass scales," Adrian added. "Of course, Sir," the employee said, moving over to the correct shelf. He turned to Adrian. "We've developed significantly better scales since you went to school, Sir, so I recommend this one," he said as he removed a shiny scale and set it on the counter.

"This scale does not require any measuring blocks, which prevents any mistakes in amount of ingredients, unless the amount that is stated is different than what the book says. The scale works by a tap of the wand on the scale and a verbal command as to what amount is needed. At that point you begin adding the ingredient you need at a best guess, and the scale will tell you when the amount is appropriate by glowing various colors. Green means you have the amount correct and red means you have gone over. This scale also allows the student to visibly see what the amount of an ingredient looks like at a certain amount. "His explanation completed, he watched and waited for his customer's response. Adrian seemed pleased with the scale, and upon looking at his daughter, he saw that she wore the same expression. She turned to face her dad. "I like it, Daddy."

Adrian turned to the employee said, "Those scales will do nicely." The employee moved the scales over to the side of the table where the rest of their purchases sat. "Excellent, Sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?" he asked, returning Brooke's school list to Adrian. He took the list and responded in the negative, pulling out his money bag, followed by the miniature trunk, which he handed to his daughter, who happily resized and opened it, waiting for the new items.

Looking to save space and keep the crystal vials safe, Adrian requested that they be placed within the case. Without any comment, the employee did as he asked. Adrian then handed the case to his daughter, followed by the brass scale. After Brooke handed it to her father, and they said farewell, they left the Apothecary. Both of them took many deep breaths of fresh air. "Kind of any interesting shop," Brooke admitted, "But I'm not too eager to return." Adrian nodded, fully in agreement.

"We should probably go find your mother," Adrian said, looking at his daughter. "I'm curious as to what she found in the bookstore." Brooke hadn't heard that, and looked at her dad, wide-eyed. "You sent her to a bookstore?! We'll never get her out!" "Yes, we will," Adrian replied. "I'll just remind her that she can purchase whatever book she's gotten her hands on, and that she could read it at home." "I hope you're right, Daddy," Brooke said as she took her daddy's hand and they started down the alley.

Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore, turned out to be at the very end of the street and filled with all shapes and sizes of books on every subject you could imagine. Comfortable chairs dotted the store, almost all filled with a witch or wizard, presumably to allow customers to peruse more deeply the books they were considering purchasing. The store seemed almost like a maze without directions, but soon enough Brooke caught on to the pattern. "Mom's probably in the back. Let's check there." Acknowledging that his daughter had a point, he followed her towards the back of the store.

Once there, it didn't take much time at all to find Jacqueline curled up happily in a comfy tan chair. She seemed pretty absorbed in her book, and it took Adrian physical taking the book from her hands (keeping the place, of course), to get her to see that her husband and child had returned. "Sorry we took so long, mom. It turned out more than potion ingredients were sold there, and some of them were on my school supply list," Brooke apologized, despite nothing being said about how long they had been gone. Jacqueline smiled and sat up, before holding her daughter's hand. "Quite alright, sweetheart. I seemed like no time at all."

"I'm not surprised," interjected Adrian, who had by now noted the title of the book and skimmed the summary on the back. It was a book he would never in a hundred years pick up, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. It was a topic that he and his wife vastly disagreed on. History was something that fascinated Jacqueline, who believed that the past was the key to the future. While that may be so, Adrian thought, he preferred to look to the future. Suddenly he wondered if there was any fortune-telling in this world, divination was the proper term, he thought. His next thought was whether Brooke had this ability. As interesting as the idea was, he forced himself to push it out of his mind. At this point, it did not matter.

"Come on, dear," Adrian said after setting the book down, "It's time for us to continue shopping." Jacqueline looked down towards the book, "But the book…" Adrian interrupted, "Will be here when we return for Brooke's materials." Brooke covered her mouth to cover a grin. It was going exactly as how she thought it would. With one last glance at the book, Jacqueline conceded and looked to her husband. "Where are we going next?" Brooke froze. She honestly didn't know, so she looked up to her daddy for help.

"I saw a store called Wiseacre's Wizarding Supplies on the way down here. I'm not certain, but it seems likely that something on your list would be there. And if not, we can just window shop," Adrian decided. Jacqueline's eyes lit up. She loved to window shop, as long as it wasn't with creatures and other unidentifiable objects in liquid. She was pretty certain all that was at the apothecary and would not show up in a wizarding supply store. Both Jacqueline and Brooke once more appreciated Adrian's keen abilities of observation. It seemed like everything in his field of vision stayed there, to be pulled out at will. It was similar to having a perfect memory, Adrian had explained to Brooke one day, but not quite. He went on to explain it best he could, but as even he didn't fully understand it, he couldn't do a very good job. Brooke seemed unsatisfied at the insufficient explanation, and he had to admit that he didn't have any further answers about it, and that it was just a mystery of the universe. That was a line that usually worked on Brooke. Mysteries of the universe were very difficult to understand, much less solve. It was such a large thing to attempt that Brooke never got very far in trying to solve the mystery. For the last few years, though, saying that it was a mystery of the universe caused her to look frustrated for a few minutes before giving it up. "Who am I to solve the mysteries of the universe?" Brooke would ask to herself these days before letting it go.

They exited the bookstore with one final reassurance that they would be returning, and leaving with a lot of books next time. This cheered Jacqueline up enough to search for the store that her husband had noticed and found it a few moments later. All three Sheltons looked at it a bit oddly as they made their way towards it. The shop seemed to be in serious disrepair, and they were all a bit nervous about entering a store that looked like that. But they went in, forcing themselves to be brave.

All three relaxed when they saw that the inside was completely different than the outside. In here, it was nice and tidy. Various items of every shape and size donned the shelves attached to the walls throughout the store. Adrian took out Brooke's list and proceeded to attempt to match items to things on Brooke's list. Out of all the things on Brooke's list, the only thing that looked like it might be found here was the telescope, and he passed that information on, but suggesting that they see if they found anything else useful. Jacqueline leaned against her husband and whispered in his ear, "Is it just me, or does this store seem bigger on the inside than it seemed on the outside?" Adrian replied relatively stoically, "I imagine it is, dear. Magic, I'm certain." Jacqueline nodded, and her fears that she was going crazy (a rather odd fear considering all that had happened today) assuaged, she began to look around the store for anything 'interesting' as her husband had suggested.

Neither parent had seen Brooke head away from them, but they spotted her easily enough a few shelves down. The aisles were wide here, and there did not seem to be much of a hazard of knocking things down. Jacqueline and Adrian heard a strange sound coming from near where Brooke was standing, and they hurried over. The next thing they heard was their daughter's laughter, so they ceased being concerned and simply watched to see what was amusing their daughter so much. What was amusing their daughter quickly caused them to chuckle as well.

Brooke was standing in front of a trash can, looking like she was playing a one-sided toss game. Every time she tossed a ball towards the trash can, it caught it and swallowed it with a large burp, followed by a confirmation, "All gone." If one were to look inside the trash can after that statement, they would see that the ball had, in fact, disappeared.

Adrian and Jacqueline couldn't help but laugh at their daughter's antics, as well as the actions of the trash can. When Brooke heard her parent's laughter, she turned to them, a bright smile on her face. "Look, mom, dad! We'd never had to take out the trash again!" Jacqueline looked at her husband. "It would certainly be a sensible purchase." Adrian privately agreed, but had some reservations. "But what about when we have neighbors or other family? We can't have a burping, talking trash can."

Brooke had already thought about that potential problem, and had looked to see if there was a way to make it non magical. "No worries, Daddy. The description says that just pushing the foot pedal three times fast will turn the magical features off, and doing it again will turn it back on. But, "their daughter said, "If you'd just be using the magical features while I'm home, it's not worth it." Both parents were impressed at Brooke's logic and sense of responsibility regarding purchases.

Brooke's parents then engaged in a silent conversation using only body language and facial expressions. She hated that type of conversation. While she was learning how to 'read' it, it was a slow process. Thankfully, they didn't take long to make a decision. "I honestly don't know if we would use the magical features when you were gone, sweetie. Maybe we should try something less pricy. I image you'd rather spend that money on books." It only took Brooke a moment to agree to that, and moved away from the now silent trash can.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline had located the telescopes and called for her husband and daughter. Once the whole family was present, it seemed that they were finally noticed. Adrian noticed this and wasn't exactly happy about it, but was grateful that someone finally showed up, because there were quite a few varieties of telescope, and he really didn't know the difference between them.

"Good afternoon, Sir, Madam, Miss," he greeted them all politely before asking who needed a telescope. It was likely to be the child, who appeared the right age to be starting school. Jacqueline laid a shoulder on Brooke's shoulder, who then looked up to her. "Brooke will be starting school at Hogwarts School for Gifted Witches and Wizards this fall." The employee nodded and then addressed Brooke. "Tell me, Miss Brooke, do you enjoy astronomy?" Brooke thought for a moment before responding. "Sometimes, if there is something interesting to look at in the sky at night." Brooke received a smile in return. "There is always something interesting to look at in the sky, Miss Brooke. You just have to know where to look."

He then turned to look at her parents. "I would recommend a medium-quality telescope for your daughter, as she does show some interest in astronomy. It will be suitable for higher levels of study if she chooses to move on, as well as if she decides to continue to search the night sky on her own." Adrian, as had become common today, spoke up. "That sounds like an excellent idea, Mr.," he paused, hoping for a last name. "Wiseacre, Sir. I am the owner of the store." Adrian blinked and found himself wanting to apologize and yet at the same time thinking it would be inappropriate. He settled for an in-between, a simple greeting. "it is good to meet you, Mr. Wiseacre. I appreciate you serving my family today." The owner smiled. "it is what I do best. Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Medium-quality telescopes." He moved over to the shelves and pulled three out and set them on the table that seemed to have magically appeared in front of the shelf he had pulled them from.

"Most of our telescopes are made of bronze, but there are a few silver ones as well," Mr. Wiseacre said, thinking to himself of the gold telescopes in the back, but not mentioning them because these clients did not appear to be in the class to be able to afford them. The three he placed on the table were all bronze, trusting that these clients would say something if they were interested in the silver telescopes. He began his spiel on the telescopes. "This one on the right specializes in seeing things in the far distance, while the one on the left specializes in seeing things a bit closer to our planet, but can see them more clearly, and in more vibrant color," he explained, intentionally leaving the middle one unexplained. As hoped, the little girl asked about it, and he began speaking again. "This middle telescope combines the features of the first two, as well as a strong charm to keep the lens clean, an essential trait in a good telescope. Another trait all three have is the ability to get taller or shorter based on the height of the person looking through it."

Brooke looked up to her parents. The third one sounded amazing, but her face fell when she saw her father's face look somewhat suspicious of the owner showing them the best for last, making it be the thing they would think about most. Jacqueline was staying out of this one, letting her husband speak with the owner, as she could tell he wasn't entirely happy with the sales pitch.

"Would it be possible to upgrade to both features in the future? Start with the one on the left, say, and then add the special features from the right if it seems prudent to do so in the future?" Adrian requested in a no-nonsense business tone. The owner knew when he'd gone a bit too far and back off. "Of course, Sir. The telescopes on the right and left are the same price, if you are interested in either of those. I would be willing to throw in the charm to keep the lens clean for free," Mr. Wiseacre offered, hoping to appease the customer.

Adrian turned back to his daughter, kneeling to hold her hands. "I think it would be better to get the one that lets you see things more clearly, if closer to Earth. We could add the long-distance option if you continue to study astronomy after the first few years. Does that sound okay, sweetheart?" Brooke thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "I guess it'd be good to see the planets and stuff in better clearness and color." Adrian nodded and let her go, whereby she quickly made her way over to her mother. Daddy could be scary when he wanted to be and even when he wasn't mad at her (admittedly, a rare event), she didn't like to be around.

He stood and turned back to the owner of the shop. "We will take the one on the left. I trust you will take extra in making sure the cleaning charm is strong?" Mr. Wiseacre nodded and took the chosen telescope carefully to the back room. On the way, he motioned the family to a consulting room her usually saved for people trying to sell him new items. It was cushy and a pitcher of water accompanied by a plate of scones would appear once they had sat down. He was fairly confident that his behavior after his faux pas of trying to oversell would be paid for, at least mostly, after he was done with the sale.

Mr. Wiseacre set up his room and had his assistant hold a protective shield against all his belongings while he worked on the telescope. The charms on the telescope were already pretty strong, but he wanted to see what he could do without making it the long-distance scope. He also didn't want to take too long, but he managed to increase the quality of the images by about a quarter, which was pretty significant when it came to looking at outer space. Unfortunately, this took a good bit of magic and left him a bit tired and not confident that he would be able to perform as strong a stay-clean charm as the man indicated he wanted.

After instructing his assistant to perform the charm at his strongest, he sat and poured himself a shot of Firewhiskey. He should have known immediately not to mess with people who were associated with Hogwarts's sister school. If the child was attending there, mostly likely a parent (or both) had as well and were not to be trifled with. The father seemed to be highly perceptive and was possibly a master legilimens, although he had not felt a brush against his mind. This meant nothing, though. He could not claim to be any good at occlumency – in fact, he was pants at it. How was he to know that the 'wizard' in front of him was a mere muggle, and that the skill he showed in being able to read salesmen had just come from years and years of practice.

Thankfully, his assistant didn't take long performing the charm, and then verifying with an additional spell that it was up to standards. Satisfied, he finished his shot and went to retrieve the upgraded telescope. He conjured a soft cloth and quickly ran it over the telescope, ensuring it looked bright and shiny. He checked the clock, and noted with some unhappiness that it had taken them nearly ten minutes to get the telescope ready. Now,, he was even further grateful he had allowed them to sit in the conference room with refreshments.

Handling the telescope gently, though it really wasn't necessary as they were really quite sturdy, he headed out of the back room and into the conference room where he'd left his customers. Once in the room, he set the telescope on the coffee table and proceeded to outline the features. But before he started, he immediately gave an apology for the wait and a hope that the refreshments were enjoyable. The girl's mother was clearly kinder than her father, and verbalized a thank you and that yes, they were nice. Their daughter nodded appreciatively as well. "I liked the ones with cream cheese the best, Mr. Wiseacre." He smiled at her, then turned back to the man of the house who he was trying to get back on the right side of. "The cleaning charm has been applied, and there should be no issues with it. However, in the off chance there is, you may bring it back at no charge and it will be repaired or replaced." In muggle terms, Adrian knew, this was a big advantage – free insurance including a replacement option. He indicated that he should continue.

"The entire thing is able to be shrunk and packed away without the use of shrinking charms," Mr. Wiseacre said. "If I may demonstrate?" Adrian nodded and the owner demonstrated how to fold up the telescope, first by the legs, and then how the telescope folded in unto itself. It did save a good bit of room, which was good. Adrian didn't say anything, but he was thinking that if they designed it to be packed without shrinking charms, there was probably a good reason for it. Something occurred to Adrian that he felt needed to be addressed immediately, before they paid. "Will the telescope be safe packed away during the trip to school?" Mr. Wiseacre looked unhappy for a moment, but knew this was an issue many of his clients dealt with. "The telescope may be in a shrunken trunk on the way to school, but if it is possible to leave the trunk full-sized without causing too much of a burden, I would recommend that." Adrian nodded. "We will consider it."

"Very good, Sir. If we could settle payment up front, perhaps your daughter would like another scone," Mr. Wiseacre requested and offered in the same sentence. Adrian nodded and followed the owner up front. Once they were out of hearing range, Jacqueline admitted to Brooke, "You know, it's been difficult to let your father take the lead on financial transactions and decisions, Brooke." Brooke had already noticed this on her mother's face each time he made a purchase, but it was subtle. "I know, mom," Brooke said. "But from what I've seen, it's how things are done around here. Besides, Daddy's a businessman. He won't let us get ripped off or be treated badly in any way." Jacqueline smiled as she stood up, followed by her daughter, after Brooke had grabbed one last scone. They were offered freely, and as far as Brooke was concerned, things offered freely you could take as many of as they wanted. This was especially true with food, even more specifically with sweets, Brooke thought to herself. After all, she justified to herself. Why let good food go to waste? Never mind that it was highly unlikely this would happen.

Jacqueline frowned at Brooke's taking of yet another scone. "You're going to ruin your appetite, young lady! We'll probably be having lunch soon," she said, hoping it was true. She was getting hungry herself. "Trust me, mom, a few scones is not going to ruin my appetite. We've been running around all day and I'm very hungry." Jacqueline admitted that her daughter had a point and said no more on the matter. A few moments later, they reached the front, where the telescope was just finished being packed up. "There you go, Sir, we do hope to see you again," the owner almost pleaded. Adrian didn't give any response to the owner, but did look back to make sure his wife and daughter were close behind him. Right before they reached the door, Mr. Wiseacre shot a quick spell at the door, causing it to open for his customers. Their daughter looked back at him with his wand out. She smiled and waved as she exited the door. "Well," Mr. Wiseacre thought to himself. "At least only one member of the family is mad at me. Too bad it had to be the head of house."


	4. A Thoroughly Non-Magical Lunch

Chapter 4 - A Thoroughly Non-Magical Lunch

After an intense morning of magical shopping, the Shelton family decided to enjoy a thoroughly non-magical lunch. It took a bit of searching, but they found the Leaky Cauldron, and after removing and storing their robes in the trunk, they headed back to the muggle world. As expected, once they left, Jacqueline and Adrian could no longer see the entrance. It would be up to Brooke to lead them back, but they were certain she was up for the job.

Neither parent wanted to go through the process of finding a parking spot again, so they stayed close to the Leaky Cauldron. They weren't disappointed, though, as they found a nice pizzeria and looked and smelled delicious, even where they stood. No discussion was needed – a simple glance at each other and a quick nod and they headed in. Upon entering, they were greeted by a waiter in a nice shirt accompanied by a tie. Jacqueline and Adrian didn't say anything, but they were happy to see someone in nice, normal clothes. Brooke didn't seem to care one way or another.

"Party of three?" The waiter questioned, and upon confirmation led them to a table at the edge of the restaurant, handing them each a menu. "A waiter will be with you momentarily." Although this nice of a restaurant would be having them being certain to sit up straight, they were all so tired that they couldn't help but slouch a bit. This did not escape the gaze of the waiter who quickly asked what type of drinks they would like after giving a few suggestions. "The vanilla iced coffee sounds wonderful," Jacqueline said, followed by Adrian also ordering an iced coffee, this time flavored by hazelnut. Jacqueline said nothing aloud, but she definitely liked being served first, making a note to herself to eat at non-magical places, even when spending most of the day in the magical world.

The waiter then turned to Brooke. "And what would you like? Most children don't favor coffee," Brooke shook her head vehemently. Coffee. Yuck. "Perhaps I could interest you in some chocolate milk or juice?" Brooke noted that sodas were not mentioned, maybe even not offered, which would be odd, but she decided not to let it bother her. Hopefully they would have her favorite kind. "Do you have cranapple, Sir?" The waiter shook his head. "Not premade, no. All of our juices are made fresh right here. We could certainly mix cranberry juice with apple juice, however, if that would suffice, young lady?" Brooke nodded. "If I don't like it, can I get something else?" The waiter smiled. "Of course. We want to make all our customers, children and adults, happy." Brooke smiled. "Okay." The waiter quickly reiterated the drink orders and headed off.

As soon as he was out of hearing distance, Brooke immediately spoke up. "I like him. He's nice." Jacqueline and Adrian smiled in agreement. "And he knew to take the order from the lady first. You can look forward to that when you get older," Jacqueline told Brooke. "Nice!" she exclaimed, before quickly lowering her voice. "Sorry." Her parents nodded. "The restaurant's not very crowded as it's a bit after the normal lunch rush, but good for you for realizing you were speaking too loudly," Adrian complimented.

As if proving Adrian's comment about it not being crowded, thus giving the assumption that their lunch should be delivered quickly, the drinks appeared, being placed in front of each respective person. "Would you be so kind as to taste your juice, Miss? I had them add a bit of sugar to counter the tartness of the cranberry juice." Brooke nodded and took a careful sip. Her eyes raised and she let out a quiet noise of pleasure. "That's the best cranapple juice I've ever had!" "Glad to hear it, Miss." He turned to the table in general. "Are you ready to place your meal orders, or do you need a few minutes?" The whole table realized that they hadn't taken more than a cursory glance at the menus.

"A few more minutes, please," The waiter acknowledged him and stepped away from the table. The menu really wasn't very big, a fact they were now grateful for. Brooke only took a moment to locate the kid's menu. "Hey, the kid's menu has the option of an individual pizza with two toppings of your choice," Adrian nodded, not surprised in any way that his daughter had immediately gone to the pizza option. "That's a good deal, Brooke. Remember, though, even individual pizzas can be pretty big." Brooke nodded. "I know, Daddy. But I'm really hungry. I haven't done this much walking around and shopping like…. Ever." Adrian gave her that point and nodded. "As long as you eat at least ¾ of it and add a vegetable, we'll allow you to have dessert." At that statement, Brooke immediately started looking at the options for toppings, and chose pepperoni and black olives. "Black olives count as a vegetable, right?" After getting confirmation from her father, she began searching the table for the dessert menu, and upon locating it, began to peruse it.

Despite this being a pizzeria, Jacqueline wasn't really in the mood for pizza. She'd trust they would have additional options, and they did not disappoint. A linguini pasta with marinara sauce topped with mushrooms and thin green, red, and yellow pepper slices caught her eyes, and to make it simpler for herself, she slid the menu away from herself. Adrian, she noticed, was also going for an individualized individual pizza, but he was looking at the deep dish version with spinach and feta cheese. It only took him a moment to decide on that pizza, and following his wife's example, he pushed away his menu.

Apparently the waiter had been paying close attention to them, for less than a minute after they had pushed away their menus, he returned. "Are you ready to order?" he questioned, although he was already quite sure of their answer. Adrian confirmed and the waiter took their order in the same manner as before - lady, gentleman, and then child. It was a pattern that had been drilled into him since he started working here a couple years. It got more complicated when there were multiple people of the same age group and gender, but this one was simple. Jacqueline and Adrian noticed that he did not write anything down, but that was simply a sign of a waiter with a good memory, which was a definite benefit. From personal experience during her college days, Jacqueline knew it could also be developed. She wondered which category this waiter fell into.

The waiter had only been gone a couple minutes before Brooke became visibly bored. She wished desperately for something to do that would keep her occupied without getting her in trouble. Delightedly, she felt something small appear in her lap, where she quickly put her hands to feel what it was. It seemed to be a sort of small wire box. She poked a finger into one of the holes and had to hold back a giggle as it hit something warm and fuzzy. Brooke inserted another finger on a different side, trying to figure out what it was. The thing moved, seeming to squirm a little, accidentally exposing its' nose and ears to Brooke's probing features.

A doggie! Her wish had somehow brought her a little doggie in a cage! One of her parents cleared their throat and she looked up. "Earth to Brooke… are you okay?" Jacqueline said, a touch of concern obvious in her voice. "Oh, I'm fine!" Brooke reassured her. "I just have a lot on my mind." Jacqueline smiled. "Understandable. We do too. I think we should have a family meeting tomorrow, after we've each had at least a little time to think about everything." Brooke winced for just a moment at the words 'family meeting,' because they usually had negative connotations, usually regarding a particularly bad thing she'd done. She knew this time was different though, and so she managed to just nod her head. "That might be a good idea."

Brooke went back to playing with the tiny silent doggie under the table, scratching it carefully behind the ears, and petting its soft coat. Every now and then she would feel a tiny paw on her finger, a gesture that made her smile. Brooke didn't know how long it had been before the waiter returned and the food began being served. She didn't know what to do with the doggie, since she wanted to be able to play with it later. Maybe she could put it in her trunk… she felt it disappear from her lap, moments before a lovely pizza was sat before her. It was already cut into fourths for her, a fact for which she was grateful. Pizza crusts sometimes proved hard to cut through. Besides, it smelled so very good, and not having to cut it reduced the time before she could get it from her plate to her mouth. Although…. She frowned. There was an awful lot of steam rising from her pizza, and her daddy's. That much steam meant that it was far too hot to eat right then.

Less than a minute later, Brooke decided she didn't want to wait to eat anymore because it was too hot. She wished desperately for her pizza to cool to the perfect eating temperature, and then after noticing her parents having to wait as well, extended the magic to their dishes. It only took a second for them to notice that the steam rising from their plates had disappeared, and a second more to notice that Brooke was already scarfing her pizza. Both parents looked at her, certain that she'd done something, but she simply shrugged. "What? I was hungry. I'm sure you are too." She indicated their dishes, and they responded by shaking their heads briefly and proceeding to dig in.

Brooke smiled. This was the first time she'd been able to do something for her parents magically and not have to hide it. It was nice. Nicer than having to keep silent about things that made her parents happy that they couldn't explain. Of course, she couldn't literally say anything here because of all the non-magical people around, but she knew her parents were aware of her hand in cooling down their dishes. By now she was nearly halfway through with her pizza, eating at a speed that surprised her parents. "Slow down, sweetie. The rest of our shopping can wait," Jacqueline said. "I know," said Brooke in between bites. "But I don't want it to!"

Adrian looked to his wife with a conspiratorial glint in his eye. "Well, honey, I guess Brooke wants to skip dessert, then." Brooke froze mid-bite and swallowed several chews too early. "I never said that!" She drank some of her specially made juice and looked pleadingly at her parents. "I guess shopping can wait… but only until after dessert!" Brooke gave in. Adrian smiled. "I thought so. Continue on," he said, gesturing to Brooke's pizza. She grinned, "Gladly." Adrian and Brooke took their next bites simultaneously, while Jacqueline looked on in amusement, noting that she, too, was about halfway through her meal. It seemed like the morning's shopping had taken a lot out of all of them, as mealtime usually consisted more time and talking. Well, Jacqueline noted, she did cut out a lot of time by removing the 'waiting for food to cool down' time.

Not surprisingly, Adrian finished first, and as the waiter came around to pick up his plate, requested a dessert menu. Brooke's eyes came up from her food and smiled at her daddy. She knew he'd come through for her! She'd just taken the first bite of the last quarter of her pizza and knew without a doubt that she'd have plenty of room for dessert. Her juice glass was 2/3 empty, but she'd worry about that once it actually was empty.

As she was finishing up her food, she noticed her daddy leaning over to talk to mom behind the dessert menu. This seemed like very odd behavior, especially for adults, but apparently whatever they were talking about only seemed to take a moment before Jacqueline returned to her meal. Brooke was second to finish her meal, and then Adrian showed her the dessert menu. "Your mom and I have decided that we should just get the miniature desserts, since we all had a good bit of ice cream earlier." Brooke frowned a little, but didn't say anything. She didn't want to risk losing her dessert!

Adrian slid the dessert menu over to his daughter and pointed to the relevant section. "They have quite a few selections, so I'm sure you'll find something you like," he said confidently. Brooke looked down. Daddy was right – they did have a lot of choices for miniature desserts. After deliberating for a Brownie Berry Blend, which consisted of ice cream, brownie chunks, and strawberry pieces, all swirled together. Topped, of course, with whipped cream and a cherry.

"I'd like the Brownie Berry Blend, Daddy," Brooke requested. Adrian nodded. "I'm going with the chocolate espresso mousse." That wouldn't be bad, Brooke thought. At least, without the espresso. Right then, Jacqueline had decided she'd had enough pasta, with her bowl being nearly empty. Brooke handed the dessert menu to her, hoping that she'd make up her mind soon and that the waiter would come soon, too. She was eager for her dessert, as all young children normally are. "Hm, what do you think, dear?" Jacqueline said, turning to her husband. "The tiramisu or mixed berry pie?" Adrian didn't hesitate to respond. "I'd think the tiramisu, dear. That was at least one of us would be getting an Italian dessert." Jacqueline smiled and nodded. "Tiramisu it is, then."

Just as Brooke had hoped, it was only a few minutes before the waiter came back for the last dish and their dessert orders. When he came to Adrian's order, he paused to ask him how strong he wanted the espresso, explaining that they made that dessert to the customer's preference. "Pretty strong, I think, Sir. I still want to taste the chocolate, but I'd like the espresso flavor to be prominent as well," Adrian requested. The waiter nodded and assured him that it could easily be done. He paused after taking Brooke's order as well to let her know that although strawberries were listed on the menu as the fruit used, other fruits or a mixture of fruits could be used as well. "Strawberries are good," she affirmed with the waiter. She took a long drink of her juice, emptying the glass. The waiter immediately noticed this and offered more. Brooke shook her head. "I think I'll need water with my dessert, please." The waiter nodded and turned to place the order.

Once he was out of hearing range, Brooke turned back to her parents. "Where are we going after lunch?" she questioned. "I figure the trunk shop would make the most sense. Your trunk should definitely be ready by now," Adrian said, checking his watch. "Ooh! Does that mean we can go to the bookstore then, Daddy?" Jacqueline looked to her husband, and then agreed. "I don't see why not." Adrian cut in. "After we've transferred your purchases so far to your new trunk." Brooke nodded, satisfied with that answer.

Jacqueline spoke up. "It seems to me like we got a lot of the easier supplies picked up, excepting Madam Malkin's, of course. But after lunch we've got to go to the bookstore, and who knows how long that will take." She looked over her daughter, who deliberately looked innocent. Adrian smiled and turned to his wife. "Well, at least we'll have the bookshelf to place them on." Brooke smiled even bigger at that. The feather-light charm on the trunk ensured that having to buy fewer books because of the weight. She couldn't help but rub her hands together under the table in excitement. Her excitement about the new books she'd be able to buy was pushed aside for the time being by the arrival of the desserts.

It wasn't too often the family got miniature desserts, but they all immediately noticed these were about twice what they had expected. Adrian looked up to the waiter and asked in a light-hearted manner, "If these are miniature, how big are the regular desserts?" The waiter couldn't help but smile and respond, "They are pretty big, Sir. Now, I know the little Miss requested some water. Would you two like some as well?" They both quickly nodded and the waiter left, returning only moments later, before they'd managed to take more than a couple bites. "It's yummy!" Brooke explained, facing the waiter, her teeth having bits of brownie stuck in them. She quickly returned to her dessert as the waiter asked her parents whether they were satisfied with their desserts, and upon them finishing their bites, both nodded in the affirmative. Jacqueline swallowed first and took a drink of her water. "It really is excellent, and judging by my husband's devouring of his dessert, I imagine he thinks so too." Adrian, of course, heard the remark and blushed a little, sitting up and making a clear effort to slow down, but not really being that successful. "I'm glad you are enjoying your desserts so much, do you need anything else?" Three negatives had him stepping away from the table with a smile on his face. It always made him happy when his customers were happy. As this was a upper scale restaurant, it wasn't that uncommon to get nit-picky customers who just couldn't be satisfied with him, no matter what he did. Oh well, such is the life of a waiter.

It didn't take the Shelton's long to finish their desserts, Jacqueline being the only one to really show restraint in enjoying her dish. Adrian supposed it had to do with her job. After all, orthopedic surgeons needed to be calm and controlled when at work, and Jacqueline had allowed those traits to seep into her home life. It wasn't something that anyone minded, especially when it was her turn to cook dinner. It was also a trait that she'd managed to pass on a little bit to her daughter. Jacqueline was actually thinking about the same thing, watching her husband and daughter eat there desserts without restraints. She wasn't all that concerned, though. Her daughter was a smart girl, and she'd figure out how to present herself in this new society, especially with the help of the books that they would soon be acquiring.

It was interesting to note that none of the Shelton's hardly any idea about the muggle stigma when they were attempting (rather successfully) at being wizards. They just wanted to fit in, and more importantly, their daughter to fit in. Perhaps they were being a bit overprotective, but they wanted Brooke to make her own way in this world as she got older. They would of course be willing to help her when she needed it, but they wanted her to be able to do as much as possible on her own. The scraping of her spoon on the bottom of the large dessert cup let Jacqueline know she had finished her dessert. Pity, her thoughts had caused her to miss the last few bites of her tiramisu. This was highly unusual, but she let it go and took a sip of her water.

Brooke was doing her best to lick her dessert dish without actually sticking her face in it. Jacqueline was amused by her antics, but got her attention. "I think that bowl is empty, dear." Brooke frowned and examined her dish. "I guess you're right, mom. Too bad. I could have eaten more." Adrian took out his wallet for the bill the waiter had just placed on the table and said, "I'm sure you could have. I'm also sure you would have had a stomachache later." Brooke frowned. She couldn't that. She hated it when her parents were so unequivocally right.

In the time it took to say that, her father had handed the waiter his card and was waiting for his return. Brooke's manners kicked in. "Thank you for lunch, Daddy. I think I'll be full for a least a few hours." This last part was said with a smile. "I'm sure you will." Adrian's wife turned to him. "Lunch was wonderful, sweetheart. We should definitely come here again when we're in the area." Brooke nodded in agreement just as the waiter returned Adrian's card. "Thank you very much for your business today. It was an honor and enjoyment to serve you." For some waiters, this was merely something that they said to everyone, and maybe it was for him, Jacqueline thought while watching his face. Regardless of that, he had truly meant that for them, and that pleased her. It was rare, but highly enjoyable experience when waiter and customer enjoyed a brief symbiotic relationship, their part being, of course, a generous tip.


	5. Diagon Alley, Part 2

A/N: As with Chapter 3, I had a lot of fun detailing Brooke's trip to Diagon Alley. As such, it is also very long. This chapter features Flourish and Blotts, Ollivander's, and the Magical Menagerie. Enjoy!

Chapter 5 - Diagon Alley, Part 2

After Brooke led them back to the Leaky Cauldron and been let back into the alley by Tom himself this time, they quickly donned their robes in a small alcove directly to the left of the entrance to the alley. All three unnecessarily dusted off and straightened their robes, and as a mother must do, Jacqueline gave them a once-over herself before they headed back to the main alley.

"I suspect it would be wise to pick up your actual trunk now, before we made any further purchases," Adrian said, looking to his daughter. Brooke, who already had her eyes on the bookstore a bit ahead turned to him and reluctantly agreed. Jacqueline placed a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder and led her in the same direction as her father for a few moments, until she was sure Brooke would dash off towards the bookstore. Before Adrian actually entered the shop a few minutes later, he turned to his daughter and wife. "This shouldn't take long, hopefully everything will work wonderfully. Of course, you'll need to test everything yourself, Brooke, as it is your trunk." Brooke nodded in agreement, "Ok, Daddy."

Adrian opened the door and ushered his wife and daughter in. The shop was considerably less crowded than earlier, and they had only one customer ahead of them. He turned to look at his family. "One feature I did add was the ability to turn the trunk into appearing like a wheeled suitcase. It seemed like it would be a handy feature for while you are home, sweetie," he said, looking at Brooke. "I guess that would be a lot easier than dragging a trunk everywhere, at least when it isn't shrunk." The previous customer left the shop and they were greeted, after which the trunk they had ordered was brought out to the show floor. "I hope you find this to your satisfaction."

"First, check the feather-light charm," he instructed Brooke, happy to see her easily pick it up and then set it down. "No matter what you put in it, it will remain that same weight." The shopkeeper didn't miss the gleam in the young lady's eye and silently wished her parents luck. He then showed Brooke how to access all the compartments, that they would be setting the locks as they did this. There were three large keyholes in silver on the front of the trunk. "I normally recommend a finger-word combination as passwords." He demonstrated in the air. "For example, I would hold my thumb to the first lock and say the word 'blue'. The second lock would be the same, but with a different finger and code. I don't recommend using anything too complicated, but nothing too easy to associate you with, either."

It only took Brooke a moment to grin and think of passcodes. She had three small cat stuff animals from the same collections. Passwords decided on, she let the shopkeeper know she was ready. "Any questions?" She shook her head. "I'm going to cast a privacy bubble around the three of you, allowing you to keep the passwords only to yourselves." Adrian nodded, slightly relieved. He wasn't sure if he was the only one concerned about that, but since the issue had been dealt without him having the say anything, he let it go. Brooke was confident in what she was doing, and didn't take very long. Ring finger on the first lock – "Speckles"; forefinger on the second – "Stripes"; thumb on the final lock – "Pepper". Her parents smiled when they realized what she was using as passwords, and agreed silently that it definitely fit the qualifications that had been recommended.

Brooke gave a thumbs up to the shopkeeper, who then cancelled the charm. "No issues, I trust?" he said to Brooke. She shook her head. "Now that we've gotten that taken care of, why don't I show you the features of the trunk. Brooke, you only need to whisper the password under your breath so people around you will not hear it." She set her ring finger on the first lock and whispered her password. The first section opened, and upon looking in, Brooke could see that it was a wardrobe. She looked up for the explanation of how to use it. "Drawers," he said clearly, and in response to that, a small dresser came up out of the trunk. "I know it looks small, but there is actually quite a bit of room in there. Take a look." Jacqueline and Adrian came around to look as well and were pleased by what they saw. The space within each drawer was easily the size of her one at home, if not a little bigger. "Another feature of the drawers is that if you don't want to pull the whole dresser out, you can call for whatever number drawer you want, and it will come to the top and stretch to be full size within your trunk. Commands are pretty simple. 'Close' will close down anything that is out, so that will be easy enough to remember." He paused. "For things that need to be hung up, which is a good bit our your wardrobe, I imagine, I have installed three bars for hanging clothes, one each for school uniforms, everyday clothing, and robes and dress robes. They will only come out one at a time, so keep that in mind. To summon one, just say which bar you want." Brooke experimented with calling for her school uniforms. The bar came up high enough to expose everything she would need to get to. "What about school robes? Would they go here, or in the sections for robes?" "They would go in the uniform section, Miss." Brooke nodded. "I thought so." "If you please, Miss," he said, indicating that she should close the first section and open the next.

She did so, noting that this just looked like a wooden top, but know that it wasn't. "The first feature is the bookshelf. It comes up the same way as the dresser." Brooke pulled it up and was surprised to see a leather volume on the first shelf. She picked it up and looked at it. "It's empty," she said in surprise. "Not for long," he assured her. "This book will note every book you put on these shelves. When you are looking for a certain book, simply place your finger on the title you want and it will scoot towards you so you don't have to searching for it. It is also a good way to make sure you don't get duplicates of books that you don't mean to." Brooke waited for a continued explanation of the features, and the shopkeeper obliged. "I know these shelves seem skinny, but each shelf can hold up to fifty books. When you go to place a new book in and there doesn't appear to be room, simply inform the shelf that you need space for a new book, and space will be made." Brooke nodded and closed the bookshelf and opened the next shelf.

The employee nodded. She was getting the hang of it. They came to the top of the trunk and flipped open, revealing shelves that were deeper than appeared to be possible. "The shelves are charmed so that objects will not move unless you want them to – by the simple task of picking them up. If you don't touch it, it won't move." Brooke nodded, satisfied. "Also," he turned to Adrian, "Your father requested that some of these shelves be able to detach from the trunk and attach to some other smooth surface. To demonstrate," he grasped one of the shelves on top and bottom and said "Remove." He then showed how the command 'stick' would attach it to any flat surface, and 'replace' would put it back in its case. "For safety," he recommended, "It would be wise to remove all items from the shelf you are moving, though it is not required." The shopkeeper stood. "Is this feature acceptable to you, Sir?" Before answering, Adrian asked how many shelves that that feature, and upon hearing that three had that feature, nodded. "That is acceptable." At her father's approval, she shut down that compartment and started to open the final one. "This compartment is for things that don't fit or don't belong in the other two compartments," he explained, "It's empty." Brooke opened it anyways and felt around in it. It was definitely bigger than it looked. "How big is this compartment, compared to the appearance of the trunk?" "Roughly twice as big. It can be made bigger if necessary." Adrian came over and examined it. "No, that is sufficient."

The shopkeeper turned to them all, "Is the trunk for your daughter, and you, Miss, pleasing to you?" Brooke spoke up first. "Well, I like it!" Upon receiving approvals of the trunk from the other two, he suggested that Brooke and her mother switch her belongs to the new trunk, reassuring them that yes, of course, the new trunk has shrinking and feather light charms on it. "It has the additional feature of staying where it is placed when in pockets, so no issues with having it fall out of your pocket." Adrian nodded. "Excellent," and followed the man when he went to the counter to deal with payment.

Brooke and Jacqueline had emptied the trunk they had borrowed, and Brooke frowned at the small pile of items. "I thought we'd gotten more than that," she said with a frown. Jacqueline smiled. "Don't forget, we still have to pick up your robes and go to the bookstore." Her daughter's face lit up. "I can't wait to start filling up the bookshelf!" Her mother handed over the larger cauldron and helped her daughter place it in the empty compartment, as it definitely was too big for the shelves. "Can you open the middle compartment, honey? I think the rest of these items will fit there nicely," Jacqueline commented. Brooke quickly switched over to the second compartment and said, "Shelves," excitedly watching as they came up and then opened. Then, under her breath, "That is so cool." It only took a few moments to put up their purchases from Scribbulus' and the Apothecary. The case that housed all the vials and ingredients was of vast help to them, and the brass scales went right beside them. Lastly, they placed the telescope on the bottom shelf. "This might be moved to the bottom, depending on what these shelves fill up with." Brooke nodded. She then closed up the trunk, shrunk it, and put it in her comfortably deep pockets. She'd heard about the charm that prevented the trunk falling out of a pocket, but it still made her feel better. Brooke knew what shop was coming next, and was practically hopping in excitement. Adrian came over, "All set?" Eagerly Brooke nodded, and Jacqueline also indicated they were.

Once they'd exited the shop, Adrian turned to his wife. "Will you lead the way?" Of course, Adrian had been there already too, but he felt better giving her something to do. "Of course!" Jacqueline said eagerly, taking her daughter in hand and leading the way. "Mom! I don't need to hold hands with you like a toddler," Brooke protested. Jacqueline didn't let go, and Brooke decided to leave it be. She'd be free in the bookstore soon enough. Before they entered the store, the family once more examined her book list. To her parent's surprise, Brooke said that she didn't want to look at her texts while in the store. When she was questioned as to why, she had a simple answer, "I've have plenty of time to read them at school, and at home. No reason to spend time on them here." Her parents looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded. "Well, let's get those taken care of first," Jacqueline suggested. They all agree and entered the store, but that all changed when they saw the sign saying that if you had a book list, they would get them put together for you at no extra cost. Adrian looked at Brooke. "Well, that's nice of them. Why don't you go hand over your list. We'll wait here."

Brooke went up to the counter, forcing herself not to run, and waited just a minute before she was greeted. "How many I help you?" Brooke held up her list. "Can you fill this please?" The lady employee scanned the list, and looked surprised. It had some of the regular textbooks on it, but some not – at least for a first year. She pondered, and then voiced her question. "Are you attending Hogwart's sister school?" Brooke nodded. "That's the reason for the advanced books, then. I had a friend whose daughter went there. Excellent school. What name shall I put on the order?" "Brooke, ma'am. When will it be ready? Do I pick it up here?" "Oh, shortly, Miss. You can pick it up here, when you are ready to check out." She turned and started to step away before remembering her manners. "Thank you ma'am." The lady looked at her. "You are quite welcome." Then, she returned to what she had been doing before.

Brooke went over to her parents with a happy step. "She said we could pick it up at that counter, and I put my name on the order." She flashed her parents an almost pleading style. "Now can I go look at books, please?" "Just a minute, Brooke." She was handed a basket. Feather-light charms, clearly. "Feel free to fill up the basket. However… I'd like you to take a look at the kid's section. I know your reading level is way beyond that," Brooke nodded fervently, wondering where this was going, "But I thought it would be beneficial for you to acquaint yourself with some popular children's books that most wizard children you be familiar with." Brooke nodded. "That makes sense. And children's books aren't big, so they won't take up much room in my basket." Jacqueline laughed. "We'll be wandering around. I know this place is big, so why don't we meet up in say… an hour, if we haven't heard from each other." Adrian looked around for a clock, and found one. "Let's go by that clock. You can probably see it most anywhere in the store." They all agreed, and they parted ways.

It was also Brooke could do not to rub her hands and cackle, something that was impeded by one hand being occupied with the waiting basket. She looked around and spotted the children's area quickly, with the sparkles and colors sectioning it off. It took a few minutes to get there, simply because of the maze of bookshelves, but the brightness of the area made her blink. Her eyes were first drawn to a large display claiming that it's contents were 'A Classic for the Ages! Perfect Gift for Any Child!'. Well, Brooke reasoned, any book considered a classic would likely be known by most wizard kids. She walked up to it and picked up a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Huh. The stories were simple enough, she determined as she flipped through it quickly. She flipped through it again, more slowly, and determined that these stories were supposed to teach children morals. Brooke shrugged and placed it in her basket. There was another big display advertising books and toys about someone named Harry Potter. There were some books here that looked like they could be interesting, but wasn't certain. It seemed like they were trying to say this person was actually real, and she wasn't going to believe that without seeing them in person. After wandering a bit more in the kid's section, she found a kid a little younger than her browsing the shelves. "Hi," she greeted him cautiously, not wanting to scare him. He looked up, a little surprised, but held onto the book. "What are you looking at?" He lifted up his book. "It's Kirk Santos new book. I'm glad there's still a couple here, he's pretty popular." "I'll have to read him, then." Brooke smiled at the kid, who promptly picked up the first one for her. "Here's the first one. He's only on the third – that's this one," he held up the one he was looking at, "So it'd be easy to catch up." Brooke looked at the back of the book, scanning the summary quickly, and then started to read the first few pages. She almost forgot about the boy, but found that he had just returned to reading. "Didn't mean to ignore you there," she said apologetically. He shrugged. "Happened to me the first time I read one too. Wanna get the other two while you're here?" Brooke nodded. "I'm a bit of a bookworm, so it won't take me long to catch up. Thanks!" She put the three books in her basket and waved goodbye to the kid, who looked pleased to have won a convert to this Kirk Santos person. Deciding that a classic book of short stories and three books of a popular new series was enough, she exited the children's section, and starting roaming the store, wishing topics were a little easier to see, rather than having to look on each shelf to see what was on it.

She soonest found herself amongst books about magical animals, specifically about magical pets. There was a compendium of magical creatures on her list, but that wasn't the same as these, not at all. One volume caught her eye and she pulled it from the shelf. Bonding: Making a Pet a Familiar. This looked extremely exciting, and she turned to the introduction. The very first thing it mentioned was that not all pets had the capacity to become a familiar, and the second thing was that only a pet who wanted to bond with a human would do so. She plopped on the ground with the slim volume and read the remainder of the introduction, which was plenty to convince her to buy the book. Into her basket it went, and her trek through the books continued.

The next subject listing that caught her eye was about wands, and though it was a thin volume, the title instantly excited her. The book talked about all the various types of woods and cores used in wand-making, and their properties. There was also a section on ideas regarding how 'the wand chooses the wizard.' That, she supposed, she would see happen soon enough. She forced herself not to open and read it immediately, because she wanted what her wand's components to mean to be a surprise once she'd had her wand choose her, according to the book. Into the basket.

Brooke wandered for a while until she reached what seemed to be a self-help type section, which she was at first surprised to see. Oh well. Magical people were humans too, she supposed. Brooke shrugged to herself and decided to look through the shelves, just for the hell of it. Most seemed standard to other bookstores she'd seen, but then one caught her eye. Mudblood? What was that? Mudblood to Magical: Hiding Your Blood Status. Blood Status? Brooke had to look at this more closely. What was blood status, and why would she want to hide it?

_If you are reading the back of this book, chances are you could use what it has to teach you. Refer to the introduction for more information._

That was beyond strange, but she took the book's advice and turned to the introduction.

_I am certain you have at least three questions burning in your mind just from the title of my book. _

_What is a Mudblood?_

_What is Blood Status?_

_Why would I want to hide my blood status? _

_I can answer these questions with very few words, and will do so here. _

_A Mudblood is a derogatory term for someone with non-magical parents. _

_Blood status refers to whether your parents are magical or not. _

_Your blood status would be referred to as "Muggleborn", for civilized people, "Mudblood", for not._

_It would be beneficial to hide your blood status because simply by letting people know that you are muggleborn, some people will automatically look down on you. _

_I can help you there. Study this book, and you'll be able to pass for someone born and raised in the wizarding world in no time. _

Brooke didn't need to read any further, and didn't even read the table of contents. She placed the book in the basket face down so the title wouldn't be obvious. She was suddenly much more grateful that her parents had been acting as natural as they could, and had donned wizard clothes. She decided to look more in this section before heading off again.

Another book caught her eye before too much longer, claiming to be a guide for students heading away to school, including a section for parents. This one, she did look through the contents at before placing it in her basket.

Enough of this serious stuff, she thought to herself as she gripped her basket more tightly and walked a few more aisles before starting to look at keywords, and what she found she was standing in pleased her. There was a self-updating records book that went into her basket, followed by a book called 500 questions and answers you never thought to ask, followed by a trivia book of 1,000 facts.

A few rows later found her in the healing section, which she assumed to be the equivalent of medicine. Most of it looked too advanced for even her, but a slightly smaller book caught her eye. Your Magic and You: Protecting, Nourishing, and Healing Your Magical Core. Brooke felt like smacking herself for not wondering where exactly her magic came from. Apparently it came from a core of magic within you, and apparently, you could affect its health, which, as the back said, could affect your spell casting. Definitely important, she thought to herself as she put it in her basket.

Brooke looked up at the clock and saw that she should probably start trying to navigate the maze to the designated meet up spot. It would be a lie to say she hurried, though, as books kept catching her eye, insisting that she look more closely at them. By the time she made it to the meeting spot, five other books had filled her basket almost to overflowing. "Well," she thought to herself, "Daddy did say I could fill up the basket." To her surprise, she had actually gotten there first, so she claimed the chair and open the first of the three books the kid she'd met recommended.

She didn't get much read as her parents showed up, their baskets only about half-full. "Hi Mom. Hi Dad. Did you have a successful book-finding?" It was a phrase they'd come up with years ago that they all found handy when in bookstores and libraries. They nodded and set down the basket, pushing it over closer to Brooke. "Take a look." Brooke sat on the floor and pawed through the books. Mostly books on culture, that was good since she hadn't gotten over there yet, and a few other random and sundry books that could be interesting, but wouldn't be on the top of her list. She looked at her pile. It was actually going to be difficult to determine a "list," besides the one about learning to appear as a wizard born and raised in the wizarding world. That was being read first, for sure.

"Did you find some interesting things, sweetie?" Jacqueline asked her daughter. Brooke nodded. "There was just so much to look at, I feel I barely got through a hundredth of the store!" Her parents looked around, and decided she was probably only slightly exaggerating. "Did you get some children's books as I asked?" "Yes Daddy. I got what was said to be a classic, and another set of books from a popular author. At least, that's what the kid I asked said. But there were lots of copies on the shelves, and only a few were the new one out." Adrian nodded. "Sounds legit to me. Shall we go up, get your books, and then pay for the lot?" Brooke tapped on her father. "Did you see a place where I can open my trunk and put my new books it?" Adrian thought a moment and shook his head. "I'm sure they have something set up." Brooke nodded and followed her father up to the register, lifting her bulky basket to the counter. Her mother spoke up. "We have a set of schoolbooks under the name Brooke." The man at the register waved his wand, and the pile of books came over and set down next to their baskets. "Is there anything else I can help you find?" he asked, more chipper than usually because of the large sale. "Just a place where we can load these books into our trunk." The employee nodded and pointed towards the back of the store. "There is a room back there labeled "Trunk Room" that is specifically for that purpose."

Meanwhile, the books had been pricing themselves, adding up to a total on a register that looked remarkably like really old-fashioned non-magical registers. The books then stacked themselves neatly. The whole process only took a couple minutes, and then the books were loaded back into the baskets to be taken to the trunk room and put away. Adrian didn't blink at the total, although it was the second biggest sale today – the first being the customized trunk. He handed over the required galleons, sickles, and knuts, and followed his family to the trunk room.

The door closed behind them, and Brooke quickly removed and resized the trunk, then opening the second compartment and saying, "Bookcase!" Adrian and Jacqueline didn't realize why she was so eager, but Brooke had her own reasons – she wanted to see that catalog book work. Her parents had starting unloading the books from the baskets, and Brooke took them from the floor to the bookshelf. It didn't take long for the shelf to fill to what would seem to be the maximum, but Brooke remembered what the trunk seller had told her, and said "New book," watching as a decent sized space opened up where she slipped the next book.

Because Brooke didn't want to sit there saying "New book" for ages, she started filling the other shelves, and stepping back to look at the effect. She turned to her parents. "A nice start to a book collection, don't you think?" Adrian and Jacqueline nodded. Honestly, they'd half expected her to come back with two baskets full instead of one. Brooke came closer to the bookshelf and took out the inventory book. "I want to see how this thing works," she said, opening the book and pointing at one of the books. Sure enough, it slipped a little ways out, allowing Brooke to easily slip it out and then back in. She'd noticed the other books didn't fall over upon the removal of one, something she'd never like about regular bookshelves. "Cool." She looked to her parents with a grin, and saw they were also smiling. She closed the trunk, miniaturized it, and returned it to her pocket. "Never thought so many books would be so light," she joked as they left the room.

They weaved through the bookshelves until they made it to the front door and blinked as they stepped out into the sunlight. It had been dimmer in there than they had realized. Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands, wasn't far away, but when they approached the doors, he appeared rather busy with two boys about the same age as Brooke and their parents. A stack of wands lay on the counter. Adrian looked over to Jacqueline and Brooke. "He looks busy. Why don't we wander around for a while and check back later." Jacqueline nodded, and the both looked to Brooke. She frowned. "I really wanted to get my wand _now_," she said, almost whining, "But I guess I won't get it any faster by standing here." She started walking in a random directly without waiting for her parents, which earned her a stern warning about behaving. Brooke mumbled an apology and waited for her parents to catch up.

It seemed to take forever, but they did make it about halfway around the alley with two short stops. The first was a stand that was selling butterbeer and pumpkin juice. None of the Shelton's had ever tried either of those, so watched to see what another family with children ordered. All of them ordered butterbeer, meaning that there probably wasn't much, if any, actual alcohol in them. They headed over to the stand, and were greeted by a friendly witch. "What can I get for you today?" she asked. "All of our drinks are nice and cold, and the heat outside won't do anything to the temperature of the drink." Brooke liked that, and was sure her parents would as well. Adrian and Brooke ordered butterbeer. Jacqueline was slightly less (or more, depending on how you look at it) adventurous and ordered pumpkin juice for herself.

After a few tentative sips, both Adrian and Brooke found their butterbeers to be spectacular, and showed less restraint in drinking them. Jacqueline liked her pumpkin juice, but drank it in long, slow sips. It didn't take too long to circle back around to Ollivander's, and this time, no one appeared to be in the store. It wasn't the first time this had been the case today, so they went in anyway and took a seat on the admittedly well-worn chairs. Brooke, unsurprisingly, chose to pace.

Brooke jumped as they heard a sliding noise, then looking somewhat surprised at the presence of a very old man holding onto a ladder as if riding it. He stepped off and walked the few steps toward his customers. He greeted them, asking for a last name only from Brooke. To their surprise, he walked away and started pulling out a few long, thin boxes, which they supposed held wands.

"You play off very well as being a wizarding family," Mr. Ollivander commented, causing all three to look at him in surprise. Adrian looked at him suspiciously and questioned how he knew they weren't. "Oh, a few things. Not things most would notice. For example, you two," he pointed to Adrian and Jacqueline, "Do not have magical signatures. Your daughter does. Also, if you were a wizarding family, I would have already known your name." Adrian tried to speak again, but was interrupted. "Less talking, more wand-finding," Mr. Ollivander then turned to Brooke, "You'll know it's your wand when you find it, I assure you."

What happened then quickly became a repetitive process that Brooke had hoped would be more exciting. A few times they got sparks from a wand being tested, but both Mr. Ollivander and Brooke knew that was not the wand for her. They had gone through a couple dozen wands before he stopped handing wands over and scrutinized her. "Now," he began to explain once Brooke started to look nervous, "All of those wands that had some reaction had a similar core – dragon heartstring. It appears to be the wood that I'm having trouble making you with. I wonder…," he said, as he tapped his chin. "When is your birthday?" "July 20th," Brooke replied. This sent Mr. Ollivander back to the shelves of wands, as if now looking for something in particular. Brooke looked over to her parents and gave them a thumbs up. Hopefully this wouldn't take much longer.

Mr. Ollivander came back with only a few boxes this time. He opened the first one and handed it to Brooke. "I believe this one will suit you," he said with a hopeful confidence. When Brooke took it, she almost jumped as she felt a wave of power flow through her. She smiled. "It's definitely mine," she said, following the certain statement with a confident 'swish'. A warm, powerful wind enveloped her, and she smiled. It was comforting her, and it just felt so…right! Her parents were looking at her in shock, and even Mr. Ollivander looked very pleased, and recited the description of her wand as it died down. "Holly with dragon heartstring, 8 inches, rigid." He paused.

"I suspected you were quite powerful with that wand core, and that display you showed upon your connection to your wand confirmed it," Mr. Ollivander said. Suddenly he paused, as if a thought had crossed his mind that hadn't until just that moment. "You're attending Hogwart's School for Gifted Witches and Wizards, aren't you, young lady?" Brooke smiled and nodded. "You won't have any trouble there." He took out a wand holster and a wand polishing kit and set them on the counter. "I'm throwing in the wand holster to protect her wand, Mrs. And Mr. Shelton," he said, in a tone that allowed no argument. "I recommend the polishing kit to keep it clean because," he looked at Brooke intently, "Contaminants of any sort can affect wand performance."

"Let me show you how to put this on," Mr. Ollivander said, coming over to Brooke's side of the counter and taking the wand holster. "Push up your robe sleeve, please." Brooke did so, and watched carefully as he attached the holster to her forearm. It didn't look overly complicated. Mr. Ollivander showed her where her wand should rest, and how to easily access it. After trying it a few times, Brooke was confident in operating the holster. She slipped the wand out once more to admire its' smooth surface. The handle was comfortable and designed so that it wouldn't slip out of her hand accidentally. While she was busy admiring her new wand and showing it to her mother, Adrian took care of the fee – 10 galleons for the lot. Her father cleared his throat and Brooke quickly put her wand away and looked over at her father, who handed the wand polishing kit to her. "Put that away, please," he asked, which she promptly did. She was glad she didn't have to put her wand away. She'd only just gotten it, but it already felt like a part of her. A moment later everything was settled and they turned to leave the shop, but before they did, Brooke turned back to Mr. Ollivander and gave a heartfelt thank you.

Jacqueline watched her daughter, noticing how her eyes seemed to have a new shine to them. Whatever that wand had done while connecting with her, or whatever it was, certainly had not been a bad thing. She wondered how long it would be before her husband noticed the new shine as well. After all, don't mothers pay more attention to their daughters? Or, she somewhat sheepishly admitted to herself, as she knew perfectly well that Adrian paid just as much attention as she did, if not more, she'd just looked her daughter in the eye first after she'd gotten her wand.

"We don't have much more to do today," Jacqueline mentioned. "We just need to get the rest of your clothes, right?" Brooke nodded. "There's one more thing I'd like to do while we're here, mom, dad," she said, trying not to look too desperate. "I'd really like to get a pet. I got a book on bonding with them and I think it'd be a really good thi…." She was cut off by her parent's laughter. "We were actually going to take you there before we left as a surprise," Adrian said. "Guess the cat's out of the bag, now!" Jacqueline finished. Brooke shook her head and laughed. Parents. They could be so immature sometimes. She knew she could be too, but she was just a kid.

A moment later saw all three headed back to Madam Malkin's shop, where they were greeted by an employee who went to get her boss once they let her know they were picking up an order. "She asked me to bring you to the dressing rooms," she said, then leading the way to the back. She showed them through an archway which led to Madam Malkin beside a large table, across from which was a large bar for hanging clothes. She turned to them with a smile. "How has your shopping done today, dears?"

"Wonderful, thank you Madam," Jacqueline answered. "We were glad we got a trunk first, it made things significantly easier, especially once Brooke's custom one was finished." Madam Malkin raised an eyebrow. Custom trunks were anything but cheap. Perhaps this family was wealthier than they appeared at first sight. It did not matter, though. All of her customers were treated the same. She turned around and indicated the robes and uniforms on hangers.

Brooke didn't wait to go examine her new robes, giving an extra-big smile as she watched the animations on the two that she'd picked with them. "I want to get one of those," she said, pointing to the kneazle that walked around the bottom of the green robes. "Well I'm afraid that's not possible," Madam Malkin said, "That's a kneazle, a type of magical cat, and you have to have a license to own one. But they have half-kneazles at the pet store that you could have," she said as quickly as she could to assuage the girl's disappointment. "Oh," Brooke said, mollified. "Ok, then."

"Do these all meet with your approval?" Madam Malkin asked, indicating the whole family. They all nodded and she clapped once with a smile. "Excellent." She stepped over to the next rack to where Brooke's uniform hung. Removing one set, she handed it to Brooke, "Go try that on, please," she said, pointing to a door. Brooke went without saying anything. She knew she had to try it on, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Just a few minutes later she emerged from the dressing room to be examined. She felt a little shy, but Madam Malkin didn't let her stay hidden, presenting her to her parents.

"You look very nice," her mother said, and her father affirmed her belief. Madam Malkin turned to Brooke. "How does everything feel? Fit all right?" She nodded. She never thought she'd be admitting this to anyone but… "They're actually pretty comfortable." Her parents wisely kept their mouths shut. Madam Malkin straightened the robe a bit and handed her the winter cloak. She tried it on without being asked, and was happy when told she could take it off. That would certainly keep her warm! "All right, dearie, go change back into your other clothes." Brooke hurried back into the room.

Jacqueline suddenly became aware of what could be an issue. "Madam?" she queried. Madam Malkin looked over to her. "We were planning on having Brooke wear her robes regularly while she was at home to get used to them. How do we clean them?" "Not to worry. On her everyday robes I've place a strong charm to keep them clean. She could roll in the mud and they would still be clean – not that I recommend it, of course. The charm should last until she goes to school, where laundry is taken care of for the students. I have not applied the charm to her uniforms, but I don't anticipate she'll be wearing them." Jacqueline laughed. "Not if she can help it." Just then, Brooke came back out, clothes already back on a hanger. Madam Malkin took it from her. "Now, if you could open your trunk, we can get these squared away." Normally, she'd require clients to pay first, but if they were wealthy enough to afford a custom-made trunk, she knew money was not an issue. Walking out of her store without paying was simply unheard of.

Brooke did so, getting faster and faster each time she did it. She called up the pole for the robes and dress robes first, and Madam Malkin moved over to help her load them up. When they were all nice and neat, she switched poles and they began doing the same with her uniforms, leaving the socks and sweaters out. "Watch this," Brooke announced, proud of her trunk. She closed the bar for her uniforms and called up the dresser. "Very nice," Madam Malkin commented. Brooke opened the top drawer and they loaded in the socks, and used the second drawers for the sweaters. "Don't forget that the sweaters go in drawers, not hangers, dear. Don't want them to stretch out!" Brooke knew that already, of course, but didn't say so. "Yes, Madam."

Her parents knew she was just being polite, but they certainly weren't going to discourage it. Brooke closed the trunk up again and returned it to her pocket. Madam Malkin took out a long receipt from her robe pocket. "Let's see," she said, "It comes to…." She pointed to the number at the bottom. "But because it's such a large order, I'll round it down." Adrian nodded and pulled out his money bag. He was very grateful there was a featherlight charm on it. He had to dig around a little, but he found the appropriate coins and handed them over. "Thank you so much," he said, sincerely, "You have been a great help today." "It's my pleasure. Have an excellent day, all of you, and you, young lady," she said looking at Brooke, "Have a wonderful time at school."

Brooke smiled genuinely back at Madam Malkin. "I will." The Sheltons headed back to the front of the shop and looked around one last time. Adrian mentally shook his head. Who knew robes could have so very many styles? And that he could actually (not that he'd ever admit this to his wife) wear them fairly comfortably and without looking like an idiot?

No one knew where the pet store was, so that ended up being another trip walking down Diagon Alley until they came upon it. Before they even stepped in the store, they noticed how crowded it was with cages of various types of animal, from a jewel-encrusted turtle to snakes to cats of a wide variety. When they stepped in, a bell clanged, though how it could be heard through the din they didn't know. A frazzled employee called out to them from the other side of the store that he'd be with them in a minute.

Adrian frowned at the state of the store. It really wasn't organized well at all, but at least everything was clean, with the considerable aid of magic, he was sure. Brooke looked around and located the feline section, and headed over there after poking her parents and pointing to where she was going. She had received a nod in return and made her way to the wide variety of felines. Brooke quickly realized this was like many of the stores they had visited today – that is, it was much bigger on the inside than the outside.

There were far more cats to choose from than she had anticipated, but this made it harder, not easier, to choose. On the other hand, there was a greater chance of finding an animal she connected with and perhaps bond with at a later date. A few crates contained 2 or more kittens, which were cute, of course, but Brooke was smart enough to realize that a kitten at school might not get the attention it needs. Plus, it could be in danger from larger animals. Better to get a full-grown or at least mostly full-grown cat, she decided.

Unfortunately, none of the cages were labeled beyond whether the animal inside was a regular cat or half-kneazle. More information would have to be gotten from the employee, once he reappeared. Tabby cats, tuxedo cats, black cats, white cats, there were just so many types of cat, and some that were clearly not of non-magical origin. Most of the cats were pacing back and forth in their crates, or sleeping, but there were a few that were just sitting or lying down, observing the world. It was these cats the Brooke was most interested in, and took a closer look at.

Adrian and Jacqueline had decided before Brooke had even requested a pet that they would not interfere with the process of her choosing an animal. It was actually somewhat interesting to see what she passed up and what she took a closer look at. Jacqueline was surprised that her daughter had passed up the kittens, but was pleased that she'd realized they would be hard to take care of in a boarding school environment.

The employee had come up shortly after they'd arrived and asked how he could help them, but they let him know their daughter was choosing a pet. He'd nodded, seemingly grateful that they weren't going to need their hands held, in a manner of speaking. There was always so much to do around here – but that wasn't surprising considering the variety and quantity of animals they stocked.

Brooke finally halted, hearing a contemplative meow from near the floor. She sat down at the cat's level and observed him or her. It was a part kneazle, she noticed from the sign on the crate's door. Its fur was of medium length, and a beautiful auburn color throughout, with light gold tips on paws and tail, just enough that from close up you could see that this was not a normal cat. It meowed at her again, and stood up, stretching, allowing Brooke to see that he or she was actually a pretty small cat, although that could be because of age or breed.

She scooted closer to the cage and looked at the cat contemplatively, a look that was mirrored in the cat. Adrian turned to where his wife was standing and poked her. "I think she's found one," he whispered, and Jacqueline turned to watch her daughter. She agreed – Brooke did look like she was testing out a cat, so to speak.

"Are you…" Brooke paused as she spoke to the cat, correcting herself. "Am I yours?" she questioned the cat. Another meow, this one with a distinctively positive tone. She smiled at the cat and turned to her parents, beckoning them over. Her mother came over immediately, while her father seemed to be waving someone over, probably an employee. Jacqueline gushed over the creature's beauty, and tried to get closer, but Brooke stopped her. "Wait," she said, "It's just a feeling. You should wait."

The employee came over to the crate, where Brooke let him immediately through. "Ah, you like this little guy, huh? Would you like to hold him?" Brooke nodded forcefully, and he knelt down to open the cage. He started to pick up the cat to hand to Brooke, but she stopped him. "Let him come to me. I know he will." The confidence in her voice convinced the employee to step back and allow the connection to be made. The half-kneazle came out of the cage with all the regality of a young prince, and came right up to Brooke, climbing up onto her lap and resting his paws on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck.

All three knew something special was going on, and dared not interfere. Of course, only the employee actually knew what was occurring, even though it did not happen that often in his shop. The half-kneazle was making a strong connection with the girl, perhaps even the full way to familiar, but only the two involved would know that. A few minutes later, the cat settled down in Brooke's lap, clearly content and purring like a small lion.

"He's about a year and a half old, but he'll continue to grow for another year or so. The mixing of kneazle and cat means that the aging process is slowed down. He won't even reach maturity until at least 5 or 6 years." Brooke nodded. "What do I need to take care of him?" "Not much," the employee said. "They are fine on regular pet food, but high-quality wet food is best. A litter box is not required as they can let themselves in and out of the house, but some prefer to have one. I haven't had any protests from him in using one."

Brooke nodded. "What about toys?" "Some muggle ones are fine, but it is good to have some magical ones as well. Magical mice are always popular, very realistic for the cat. We also recommend a large cat tree, preferably one in each main room he would be staying in mostly. Most families this is the child's room, and the living room. We have a selection of quality ones with magical features in the back, if you'd care to see them." Brooke stood up, "Of course." She turned to the cat. "Carry or walk?" He looked up at her with an 'I'm not an invalid' look, and she nodded. "Walk it is."

The employee led them back to them room, followed closely by Brooke, followed closely by the cat. Jacqueline and Adrian weren't far behind. They stopped shorted at the entrance, while Brooke and the cat didn't hesitate. The room looked like a veritable jungle. "Go on, Princeling," Brooke said, "Pick a couple." The employee watched the newly-named 'Princeling' walk around the room, sniff, and jump on a few of them. "So Princeling is his name," the employee commented. "That didn't take long for him to tell you." Brooke smiled. "I guess not."

About ten minutes later, Princeling had finished his survey of the towers and returned to Brooke. He meowed at her and then trotted to one of the towers in the back right corner. It was really quite beautiful, with platforms for her to jump and rest on, and a cubby for her to hide in. The other that Princeling had decided on had a larger area she could climb straight up if he wanted to, though there were steps for him on the other side. This one was topped with a sort of tilted roof with a platform for looking over his domain.

The trees were shrunk and put away, and they returned to the front, where the employee gave them some basic things he thought they would need. Shortly thereafter, the supplies, tree, and cat were paid for "50% off, Sir, since they are a clear magical match. Standard." Adrian had been surprised, but just thanked the man and finished the transaction.

Brooke set down the carrier they had just purchased and opened it for Princeling. "I understand cats typically don't like…" Princeling glared at her, defying the typical cat comment, and walked straight into the carrier and laid down on the plush pillow that lined it. "Well, then," Brooke said to her new friend, "I guess you don't mind too much. We tried to make it as nice as possible in there for you." The cat carrier also was bigger on the inside than the outside, but not by too much. The view outside was impeded as little as possible, and Brooke vowed to herself and Princeling that they'd only use the carrier when they absolutely had to.

Princeling purred as Brooke stroked him a few more times before closing the carrier and looking up to her parents. "Are we ready to go home?" she asked as she stood up. "Not quite," said Adrian, which brought a look of surprise from both his wife and daughter. "I think we need to set up an account for you at the bank so you can have an allowance at school." Jacqueline nodded at her husband in agreement. "I think that's a very good idea. I hadn't thought about things she might need while at school." Her husband smiled and laughed lightly. "And that, my dear, is why is I run the business." As they headed out, the employee who had assisted them thanked them for their business, and expressed a hope that they would come back some time.

Brooke had made certain that when she picked up Princeling's carrier that he was looking forward, not backward. She was certain it would be more pleasant that way for him. The pet store wasn't far from Gringott's, so it only took them a few minutes to get back into the building. This time, they did not find things so shocking. They approached the counter, Adrian first, as last time. "I wish to open an account for my daughter and set up an allowance for her to receive while at school."

The goblin pulled out a form and requested both his and his daughter's name, as well as what his opening deposit would be. "Whatever is left of this," Adrian said, pulling out his moneybag. "Minus, say, 100 Galleons." The goblin took the moneybag, reached in it and pulled out the requested money, and weighed the rest of the bag. Adrian was surprised. The bag was feather light to him, but clearly that scale could read it just fine. After writing down the amount, Adrian informed him that he wanted his daughter's allowance to come to five galleons a week. The goblin nodded. "How would you like it delivered?" "By a moneybag attached to her account." So far, so good, Adrian thought to himself. The goblin wrote something else down and called Brooke up to the counter.

Trying not to look too nervous, she did so. She held out her hand when requested and was surprised when a drop of blood welled up with no injury to be seen. "Right here, Miss Shelton," the goblin ordered, indicating a small box on the upper right of the paper. After it had flashed and then settled again, he turned to look at her again. "You now have the rights to your vault, which will be established within the next 24 hours. Beyond the allowance your father has set, you will need to have one of your parents with you to make any additional withdrawals, until you come of age or are emancipated." Brooke nodded. "Yes Mr.," she looked at his nameplate. "Bloodclaw."

The goblin gave a long, slow nod. "Your vault key and assets will be sent to you by owl within the next 36 hours, Miss Brooke. Contact us immediately if this does not happen." Brooke nodded, hoping they were done. "Your father's money bag can now be considered yours – don't look at me that way, Sir. I know you won't be using it without your daughter," he said. Adrian grumbled a bit, but otherwise kept his mouth shut. "Now, if that is all, there are other customers that require my attention." He dismissed them with that and they walked away, Princeling safe in his carrier.

They went back to the alcove near the entrance to Diagon Alley, and removed their robes, when Brooke came upon a problem. "What about my wand and its holster?" she asked, unsure of how to fix the problem. "Well," Adrian said. "Why don't we just put it on your shelving in the trunk for now? We need to hang up our robes anyway." Brooke looked uncertain, then set Princeling in his carrier down before opening up the trunk to put things away.

"Meow," said Princeling. Brooke turned to him. "Don't worry, Princeling, we're not putting –you- in the trunk." He meowed again, satisfied, and resumed looking around his rather boring view, at least at the moment. A few minutes later they were all set to go back to the non-magical world, nothing out of place or different than what they'd arrive to the naked eye, except for the cat. People did luxurious things for their pets sometimes – the carrier could be easily explained away. More likely, though, Jacqueline thought, they wouldn't even notice.


	6. After Diagon Alley

Chapter 6 - After Diagon Alley

The drive home seemed even longer than the ride up there, besides the fact that Brooke was quiet with her new cat. It's said that things seem far away the more you want them, and Jacqueline and Adrian desperately wanted their beds. Brooke still felt excited, but even she was winding down. A nap would be in order, Jacqueline thought, once the cat was set up, which shouldn't take too long. The day felt like it had been much longer than it actually had, because it wasn't even four pm yet.

Finally they arrived home, and the family went inside and collapsed on various couches and chairs. A loud meow reminded Brooke to let him out of his cage and explore, which she had been about to do anyway. "Don't break anything!" Adrian called out to the cat. "Look at me, already addressing the cat like he understands me." Princeling heard both the command and the follow-up comment his human's father made to himself, and was unhappy with it. He would avoid that human for now, until he learned better, he decided, before sniffing out his human's room and promptly claiming the bed. At least temporarily.

"We should get Princeling set up before we take naps," Jacqueline said with a yawn. "Brooke, sweetie, could you open your trunk and take out one of the cat trees?" Brook did so, choosing the taller one for the living room since it had a higher ceiling. Jacqueline got up and moved a couple things from the freest corner and had her enlarge it there, decreasing much of the work. The supplies except for the trees they had left full size since there was plenty of room in the empty compartment. "Go set up a litter box in the half bath in the hall by the front door, sweetie, and a water and food dish…" Brooke cut her off. "I can set up for Princeling, mom. You guys can go take a nap, and I'll join you in a nap in a little while." Relieved of her 'duties' to her daughter and new cat, she stood from the couch and tapped her husband on the shoulder, who had already started drifting off. "Come on, honey, let's go take a nap."

After setting up downstairs as requested by her parents, Brooke headed upstairs, not at all surprised to see Princeling on her bed. "I see you found my room easily enough," she said to Princeling as she opened her trunk again. She looked around her room for the best spot for the tree, and decided to set it up right next to her window, where he could look out the window if he desired. She enlarged the cat tree and looked over to her new cat, "Is this good?" In response, Princeling hopped off the bed and made his way up the tree, right to the spot that would allow him to see through the window. "Guess so."

Leaving him to observe his new surroundings, Brooke set up a water bowl and litter box in her bathroom for his convenience. She decided to leave her trunk its normal size, but she did move it to the back of her fairly large closet it. Brooke smiled in spite of herself. She'd placed it right where she could open it without it hitting anything. With her tasks done, she let herself acknowledge that yes, she was actually pretty tired.

She slipped out of her clothes down to her undies and slipped on the closest available nightgown, which thankfully was not one that required buttoning. Brooke couldn't hold back a yawn any longer and stepped out of her closet and moved over to her bed. Carefully, she unfolded the throw at the end of the bed and climbed into bed. Princeling was still looking out the window – she wouldn't disturb him. Her eyes had only been closed a moment when she felt a weight land on her bed and crawl up to her face. She opened her eyes and giggling. "Hi Princeling. Care to join me?" Brooke held up the throw and covered both of them up. Princeling purring soon lured his new human to sleep.

It seemed to Brooke like she'd only been asleep 10 minutes when she heard a knock at her door. "Wake up, it's already 7 PM," Jacqueline said, and watched her daughter rub sleepily at her eyes and look around. Princeling meowed at the disturbance before joining his human for the rest of her time awake this day. "We were thinking of ordering some Chinese in tonight for dinner. Is that acceptable?" The mention of food always woke Brooke up a little faster, especially when she had to think to get said food. "Yes, mom. Can I get steamed dumplings and coconut shrimp, please? And maybe some Chinese biscuits to share?" Brooke looked hopeful at her mother. "Yes to the first and second, we'll see about the third. Come downstairs as soon as you are decent." Jacqueline left.

Brooke gave a final yawn and swung her legs over the bed. After picking a matching bathrobe and slippers and donning them, she headed down the stairs, followed by Princeling. She was not surprised to see her parents both in pajamas and bathrobes as well. "Good evening," she greeted her parents before sitting in a chair. Princeling followed with his own greeting after making sure he was well in sight of his girl's parents. Brooke's parents, that is. Princeling figured he'd start using her name, now that their bond was almost complete. Hours spent close together – like they just had – greatly sped up the process because her magic and his magic intertwined a little when they were touching. As they got closer, he knew, their magic would intermingle and they would feel each other even when they were not actually touching. He knew it would happen, and he looked forward to it. In further preparation for that…. He jumped onto her lap. Some extra petting couldn't hurt.

It didn't take Adrian long to place their order over the phone because the company knew them well and had all their information on file. "They said it shouldn't be long," he said, addressing his family. "They haven't hit their dinner rush, yet." His stomach rumbled. "Which is good, because I'm hungry. Shall we start a movie, and then finish it after dinner?" he suggested. "Certainly. Any ideas, sweetie?" Jacqueline said, turning to her daughter. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!" Brooke said enthusiastically. Both of her parents smiled at her simultaneously, unsurprised by her choice. "All right, I'll go put it in, seeing as how your lap is occupied," Adrian said, in a humorous longsuffering tone. Brooke grinned and snuggled Princeling.


End file.
